Hawke's Vengeance
by Foulds
Summary: As the third Black Hole Army invades with overwhelming strength, the COs must find a way to resist Hawke's unstoppable forces, and to do so must discover the truth about Hawke's motives, and Hawke himself... Chapter 27 is now up! The End!
1. Victories and Defeats

Disclaimer; I don't own Advance Wars

It was a glorious day. The sun shone through a large round window and brightly lit the high up office. The office had a view over a huge expanse of forest leading to picturesque mountains in the background. The office was a large circular room, decorated with long hanging tapestries, all showing Blue Moon troops crushing their enemies, all of which were part of the Black Hole alliance. A single desk, positioned just in front of the window was completely empty, except for a few discarded notes. Struggling as best he could to sit in the most dark and shaded corner of a bright and round room was a boy wearing slightly overly formal military dress.

Colin stood up from his small plastic chair, feeling that the large executive chair at the desk was far too luxurious for anybody except Grit and Olaf. He strolled around the room and, as he enjoyed to do immensely, saluted at the various scenes on the tapestries. Colin reached the one that represented the final battle with Sturm in the Second Black Hole War, and saluted through a small frown. The scene showed Olaf, approximately seven feet tall and with perhaps slightly exaggerated muscles, standing with one of his feet on Sturm's fallen body, who was begging for mercy as the Orange Star COs looked on in admiration, especially Nell. As Colin had remembered the battle, Sturm's death had had slightly more to do with Hawke, but given that the defeat in battle had been very much to do with Olaf's impeccable planning and organisation followed by an inspired execution of exceptional tactics, then Colin supposed that the imagery was fairly apt. 

Colin suddenly looked up and his eyes widened. He ran across the room back to his plastic chair. Commander Olaf's instructions had been clear; he was to stay there and not touch anything. Colin had been unsure exactly to what extent he was to 'stay there'. Did that mean he was stay in the building, the office, or the chair? Just in case, Colin was going to fulfil all three criteria, by staying in the chair. He then remembered Commander Grit's instructions, and, after all, Commander Grit had equal authority to Olaf as he was just as intelligent, skilful, qualified, proficient, practised and certified. Commander Grit's words had been, Colin believed exactly,

"You just relax boy, and be taking no notice of Frosty. He's just in a huff because things ain't going so well up north "

Colin decided that, though to disobey or, far worse, take no notice of Commander Olaf was unthinkable, Commander Grit's words did authorise Colin to take a brief walk if he felt it was necessary. Colin thus stood up again and walked over to the large window. The view was exceedingly beautiful, however, the sound was not. The rumbling of ever moving tanks was a faint drone in the background, often drowned out for a moment by thunderous crash of tanks firing. The trees largely shielded the view of the combat. In such heavily forested areas, trying to figure out who was winning was completely pointless, as Colin knew well. Firstly, it was impossible to tell the size of either army, so speculation was pointless, and secondly, Commander Olaf was leading the Blue Moon offensive, so of course he was winning. The grim reality of the scene was reinforced by the occasional volley of artillery fire that rose up over the trees and then fell to Earth and shook the ground with its impact. Nonetheless, Colin had faith in his commanders and his own safety, being in the Blue Moon HQ for the local area. 

Colin sat back down and, deciding that he would act in as productive a fashion as he could given the situation and save Commander Olaf the time of dealing with administration later, thus allowing him to enjoy his victory party. Colin got out his journal and began to write, as he had been doing since the beginning of Black Hole's latest invasion,

"Day 27 since first encounter with third Black Hole army, battle continues in the central areas of Blue Moon territory. Battle is joined in deep forest, preventing estimation of enemy numbers. Commander Olaf in local area, leading vehicular direct combat units against unknown enemy, thought to be Hawke. Commander Grit approximately 120 miles east in mountain ranges with indirect combat units, attempting to prevent a significant group of tanks from surrounding the local area. Last communication suggested a temporary stalemate as enemy held position out of range, reason unknown. Final units arrived from the northern front. All resistance there has formally collapsed. Conservative estimations of infantry units in area suggest that the north sea naval forces have fallen into Black Hole hands without a significant fight. Many infantry units were able to safely return south, largely due to a well organised T-copter evacuation. Taking this into account, Blue Moon would appear to have lost over 200,000 G of military equipment through the hasty retreat and another 140,000 G through units destroyed in battle. Value of enemy units destroyed in battle unknown, but thought to be lower than this."

Colin put his pen into his pocket. He had been at the northern front when the Black Hole fleet was first seen in the distance. His command had been simple, to draw up all available indirect combat units in the defensive cover of the city, with tanks on the beaches, preventing any force landing. The enemy had been overwhelming. Despite a significant level of missile support, the air force had torn through the tanks. The landers had Neotanks aboard. There had been no method of resistance. Though Commander Olaf and Commander Grit had initially been critical, their anger softened, or rather melted away leaving only despondency, when they had their first battles against the new Black Hole army. 

Colin was disturbed from his thoughts by the sound of footsteps outside the door. The door swung open without a knock and banged quietly against the wall to reveal Grit, with a rather laboured smile on his face. Colin saluted, and Grit awkwardly saluted back out of politeness. Colin stood to attention and failed to say anything, seemingly awaiting orders. Grit gave him a dour gaze and added,

"Now what did I tell you about relaxing a little there Colin?"

"Yes sir!" replied Colin, adopting a well practised 'casual slouch' before daring to say to the mildly amused Grit, "Commander, how goes the eastern front, if it is permitted to talk about it?"

"Things ain't exactly going to plan, Colin. I've got to admit, I don't like the way things look like they might be turning"

"Commander, what happened? Where are the indirect fire units?"

"Now don't you worry about them. They're heading down south now"

"Commander, what exactly happened? Did Olaf recall you?"

"Ah," said Grit with a sigh, "there's a point. I'd better be telling old Captain Snowflake what's happened out there. C'mon, boy, I'll fill you when I've got in contact with Olaf"

Grit sauntered towards the communications office, and Colin took this as an order to follow him. Grit entered the darkened room, lit only by a large number of screens showing various technical readouts and messages, being dealt with by blue clad experts in this field, each trying to synchronise individual unit's need to advance or retreat as appropriate and then relay this information to Olaf to keep him well informed of what was happening at each end of the battlefield, allowing him to make the executive decisions far more easily. Grit walked to the end of the room and tapped one of the men on the shoulder. The man gave a quick nod to Grit before handing over a receiver to him. Grit held down a button on the front of the device and began,

"Come in, Frosty the Snowman, Frosty, do you read me?"

"Grit!" came the exceedingly angry sounding reply, "You impudent excuse for a Commanding Officer! Use the official code names!"

"You got it Aurora Blade, this is indeed Sniper Dragon"

"Grit! Where are you?"

"Closer than you'd think Olaf, I'm right here with Colin"

"Incompetent fool! Why aren't you at the mountains in the east?"

"Well, I know why those tanks were just playing wait and see with me anyway. The lot of them were waiting for some air support. Soon as I saw a few bombers gathering on the horizon, there was no way I could have stayed. There weren't enough missiles to hold them off. If I were still there, the whole lot of them would be destroyed by now, as it is, they're all heading down south to the southern ports. Face it, Olaf, we can't keep doing all this"

"Well…" Olaf grunted and fell silent for a moment

"Anyway boss, where are you?"

"Heading back to you now"

"How's it going?"

"There are too many of them, and thanks to your cowardice we're going to be encircled before long! Idiot!"

"Now don't you worry, you just tell our boys to head south 'til they get to the next town. There should be a good group to join up with there. You head back here"

"What are you planning?"

"Now don't you get your beard in a knot worrying all about it"

"Grit! You're lucky I don't exile you this instant, you impertinent rogue!"

"Olaf, we've all got bigger things to be worrying about now. Face it, if we keep fighting this war like this, the whole army might as well give up now. We can't take on these boys face to face. We need to fall back and consider our options"

"What are the odds of some help?" said Olaf sulkily

"Not great," admitted Grit, "Yellow Comet's busy with its own battles and Green Earth has formally surrended"

"And Orange Star?"

"Busy with preparations of their own. They recommend that we evacuate to their soil immediately. The Green Earth lot are already there, apparently"

"Grit, why do you want me to come back to the HQ?"

"Over and out, Snowy" Grit then turned to the man sitting in front of the transmitter, "If he rings back, tell him I'm not in. I think our boys are on the move now, you get your men on the next APC heading south, and take any staff you can find with you, you got it?"

As the man gave a clear nod and began collecting files scattered throughout the room while his fellow officers did the same, Grit walked briskly out of the office without offering Colin any explanation, who followed anyway. Grit walked as fast as Colin could run behind him, and got to the main stairway for the building, which a large number of people were running down in a panic now, before stopping and turning to Colin, looking deadly serious,

"Listen Colin, you remember how you asked me to teach you how to be a good CO?"

"Yes sir!"

"Then ignore what I'm about to do. A good CO would get out of here now. Remember, without a CO in charge, the troops have no direction, there's no synchronised attack, it all falls apart. A good CO has to know when it's time to leave a few men behind for the good of the rest. Well, I never did buy into the whole good CO thing, Colin. Now, here's the problem. There are too many units advancing too fast outside, and we're going to be surrounded and hit by an air force. We're getting out of here by T-copter. There are two up on the roof, so you head up there now. There should be a unit of infantry up there, get them into one of the T-copters with you and tell the pilot to take off and head south"

"Commander, what about you?"

"Olaf's still out there, son, and I don't fancy his chances alone. Anyway, there's still a unit of mechanised infantry out front. Me, Olaf and them will get out in the second T-copter"

"Commander, it's too risky! There's too much indirect fire being launched!"

"Sorry, Colin, but this is how it's got to be. Now head up to the roof and that's an order"

"Yes sir!"

"Colin!" yelled Grit over his shoulder as he hurried down the stairs, " Just Remember, you are a CO of the Blue Moon, same as any of us. Whatever happens, from here on in, you're going to have to be making decisions"

"What if I make the wrong decisions, sir?"

"Colin," said Grit as he stopped as looked up at Colin from below, "never judge a CO by his right decisions. Any fool can get lucky. It's the good COs that can make bad decisions and win in the end anyway, ok?"

"Yes sir!"

"Then get going, Colin, and good luck"

Grit ran downstairs and through the corridors to the deserted front lobby of the HQ. The only movement was a few papers rustling from the breeze coming through the open front door. Grit walked to the wall with the door in it and peaked his head out quickly, and again for slightly longer. The dirt paths that passed the HQ were all full of units, most of which were badly damaged and moving quite slowly, as Grit could see from the top of the stairs that led up to the HQ main building. As he looked forwards down onto the expansive courtyard, he saw what he was after. The mechs were drawn up behind an improvised barricade made of some desks that they must have borrowed from inside. Grit ran down to them and crouched alongside them. There were only three men left. Each had a look of solemn concentration, though their eyes seemed empty and dull, as they never took their eyes off the gateway, the gates themselves having long since been destroyed by a tank unit that had been dealt with appropriately. Grit turned to the captain,

"Has Olaf checked in yet?"

"Yes sir," replied the captain without shifting his gaze, "He'll be here shortly"

As if agreeing, an APC came clearly into view out of the shadows of the forest, clearly having sustained a great amount of fire. As the APC drew into the courtyard, Olaf's head appeared out of the hatch, sour disapproval of the situation in general quite evident from his face. He somewhat inelegantly pulled himself out of the APC and jumped to the ground and immediately began vocally attacking Grit,

"Unbelievable! Just as I start making some progress, you go and dismiss half the army and force us to abandon a triumphant battlefield to avoid being encircled! Not only that, but with such shortages of men on my front, I find out that you've been sunbathing with who knows how many troops without even firing a shot!"

"Now now, Olaf," interrupted Grit, "You'll have plenty of time for all that later. Right now, we've got to get out of here. You guys come with us" added Grit, turning to the mechs

"We can't" replied the captain, "We're here to cover your escape"

"That's an order, captain" replied Grit bluntly, "and get the crew of that APC as well, I'm not leaving anyone behind"

"Grit! Don't be more of a fool!" exclaimed Olaf, "I've got word that Hawke himself is leading the attack on the front lines! He'll be here to personally ensure that the HQ is captured any second!"

"I thought as much" replied Grit with a half smile

"Grit! What are you planning?" growled Olaf

"Olaf, do you want to be standing here when Hawke himself arrives, or do you want to heading to the evacuation copters that are waiting for us right about now?"

"Fine… Everyone follow me, and, if it means anything to you Grit, then that's an order!"

Olaf, Grit and five men ran back up the steps and into the main building. As Grit entered the building, he looked back to see Hawke stroll calmly through the open gateway, his face giving nothing away, surrounded by five Black Hole mechs. Grit smiled as Olaf yelled something at him from the far side of the hall. He drew his infamous revolver, casually slid one bullet into the chamber, held the gun steadily with his right hand at arm's length, breathed deeply, and fired. The deafening bang echoed around the cavernous entrance hall that he was still just inside, and drowning out any noise in the background. As the Black Hole unit froze in the courtyard, Grit lowered his gun and watched. The mech standing immediately to the right of Hawke bent over and, as his knees and legs started shaking uncontrollably, fell to the ground. Hawke didn't look down at him, but rather up at the source of the shot. Another one of the mechs raise his machine gun towards the building and Grit, but Hawke immediately grabbed the gun and lowered it himself. Hawke, still glaring intently at Grit, gave two quick hand signals and the remaining mechs ran into smaller side buildings. As soon as they were out of sight, Hawke himself began moving towards the main building, straight towards Grit. He walked slowly but purposely, and was completely unarmed. Grit smiled and turned and find Olaf yelling at him,

"Grit! Are you listening? What just happened?"

"I got one of the mechs, let's go"

"Why didn't you shoot Hawke!"

"That one's got strange powers, Olaf, beyond what either of us know. I reckon it'll take more than a bullet to put him down"

"Grit! Stop being so ridiculous!

"Olaf, if a single bullet could stop him, do you honestly think he would personally lead an assault against an enemy HQ with unknown resistance inside?"

Olaf didn't reply as the pair of them ran across the hall. Just as they were about to leave through the glass doors towards the stairs to the roof, Olaf stopped and looked like he was about to speak. Grit didn't let him start, and, while effortlessly reloading his revolver, replied in advance,

"Fine, Olaf, let's just see shall we?"

Grit pressed himself against the wall outside the entrance hall and stared intently at the wall opposite the door. Olaf soon realised what he was doing as Hawke's shadow appeared against the wall. Grit breathed deeply, threw himself out from his cover and fired, shattering the closed glass doors. Hawke calmly stopped and raised his hand unnaturally fast. A strange shadow appeared in the middle of his palm. The bullet hit the middle of his hand, not seeming to pass or make any impact upon the shadow. As Grit dived back behind the wall to safety, Hawke closed his eyes. The shadow over his outstretched palm began to shake exceedingly fast, before suddenly exploding outwards in a wave of shadow. The darkness seemed able to effect the physical world as the doors collapsed from the overwhelming force, stone walls cracked and large sections of the ceiling fell onto the floor. Grit and Olaf, seeing part of the wave come through the door and break through the thin wall opposite them, ran without a word. As they got to the stairwell and began running upwards, closely followed by the five men, Grit breathlessly mentioned,

"That, I do believe, was Black Wave, the lesser of Hawke's two powers"

Olaf didn't reply. As they approached the final door to the roof, the distinctive sound of Hawke's hard boots against the HQ's marble floor made it clear that Hawke knew where they were. Another wave of shadow passed by them, terrifying the soldiers. The wave passed by like a fine black haze, silent and almost beautiful, before striking the ceiling and sending more falling stone towards the COs. As the men briefly took cover in a small corridor off the stairwell, the sound of Hawke's continuous approach forced to brave the failing roof. Grit kicked open the door and waved the men past him, ordering them to instruct the pilot to start up the T copter, before going back in briefly to help the quite out of breath Olaf.

Olaf and Grit rushed out to the helicopter and ordered the pilot to take off at once. As they began to ascend away from the building, Hawke emerged from the door and looked up at them, with almost a look of anger on his face, much to Grit's delight. Grit then leaned out of the T copter, gave a clear salute to Hawke and, while still in full sight of him, picked up the transmitter's receiver from beside the door and casually said,

"This is Grit, Squadron 27, you are free to go, repeat, free to go"

At the same moment Grit put the receiver back, as Hawke finally turned to go back down the stairs, an unusually loud series of explosions unmistakably came from the far side of the mountains, almost all at the same moment. Olaf staggered over to the door and looked out. A vast explosion suddenly consumed part of the HQ that they had been in so recently. A series of equally immense explosions began pounding the very building, tearing it apart as the outer walls collapsed. With a huge groan, the HQ began to lean over to one side while flames consumed the offices. With a final volley of artillery blows, the building surrended and fell inwards on itself, leaving a burning ruin alone, smashed by the occasional rocket. Olaf, pure horror and disgust visible on his face, turned to Grit and began stuttering madly,

"My… my, my tapestries! Do you have any idea how long it took for those to be made! You'll be paying for those for a long time!"

"Yeah, I admit it was that one with Sturm that made me originally think of that plan, but I never thought it might actually be useful for something or another"

"Grit! You had all this planned? What if something had gone wrong! We could both be dead! More importantly, I could be dead! Did it never cross your carefree little mind to run this over with the Commander in Chief of Blue Moon!"

"To be honest, no, because you'd have probably forbidden the idea. Anyway, it all worked out fine. A bullet, probably not, but if it's enough to goad him into the blast of a full artillery barrage, then that might do the job"

"All that was part of your plan! You were gambling with our lives!"

"Yeah, but it all worked out fine, didn't it? Hawke's dead, Olaf, and things will be a fair bit more simple with no CO in the south. Might just give us a chance"

"Sir," said the pilot nervously, "there's another Blue Moon T-copter nearby, it seems to be circling"

"Put me though to it" said Grit as he picked up the receiver, "Colin, now what do you think you're doing here? I thought I ordered you to head south"

"Yes sir," came the reply, "but you also ordered me to relax and take it easy. Given that the two orders seemed contradictory, I thought it better to wait for further instructions before following either course of action"

Grit smiled as Olaf grabbed the receiver and yelled,

"Colin! You are hereby banned from obeying any order given by Grit, do you hear me?"

Grit casually took the receiver off Olaf and said,

"It's good to see you Colin, now follow us"

He then put the receiver back against the transmitter. Olaf began to come up with more problems with Grit's plan, still failing to acknowledge that it had achieved anything. Grit wearily sat down and muttered,

"It's going to be a long flight"

Just at that moment, a frantic beeping came from the front of the cockpit as the T-copter began to shake. The pilot yelled back,

"Something's firing at us! I think there might be some anti air units in the forests, commander, what should we do"

"Increase altitude" came Grit's instant and confident sounding reply, his calm face betrayed by the sweat drops on his forehead. As both the T-copters pulled up, Grit was terrified by the risks. He knew well enough that too low and anti air units tear you apart, but increase your altitude and missiles can pick you off like flies. Grit's worries were answered soon enough. Another alarm from the front sounded. The pilot resignedly turned around and quietly said that a missile system had locked onto them. There was nothing to be done. Try to drop altitude and it just hits the rotors, then you're guaranteed to die. Try to raise altitude and you just fall further. As the beeping got faster and then became a drone, Grit and Olaf both grabbed onto something and nodded at each other once, brave determination on both their faces.

Colin looked out from the other T-copter. Grit's tactics had been certainly unconventional, but they had certainly worked. He looked forwards immensely to arriving at the southern ports to congratulate him properly on his crushing victory over Hawke. He looked on and could have sworn that he caught Grit's eye for just a second, a strange despondency seemed to be there. Less than a second later the T-copter was catapulted forwards, its nose thrown into the air, before wildly swinging and trying to regain a level course with only one rotor. Colin felt sick, mute, unable to move. Two men were in that T-copter who couldn't die, they just couldn't. The other T-copter continued to lose altitude, now in a downward spiral. The back half was completely missing, blown away by the devastating missile strike. Colin, feeling completely detached from the world, totally helpless, stumbled to the cockpit and yelled,

"Pilot, go after that T-copter! Land wherever it does!"

"I'm sorry sir, I can't"

"That is an order, pilot"

"Grit's orders were clear, sir, if anything were to happen to him or Olaf, I am not to set down under any circumstances before we reach the south ports"

"That…" Colin began. That made sense, and Colin knew it. As he sat down slowly, and stared at the T-copter, it finally disappeared underneath the trees, leaving only smoke behind it


	2. A Solemn Reunion

Far from the scorched battlefields and overrun cities of Blue Moon, the sea lapped gently against the shore. Far away from the clamour of civilisation, sat a lonely figure, crouched on a weather-beaten rock, watching the sea play with floating debris and wooden shards that bobbed in the swell gently. Her hair wafted in the wind as spray harmlessly landed on her face, before being brushed aside. The girl barely noticed, still staring intently at the sea as the waves lapped, receded and went wherever it was exactly that waves went when their moment of purpose had passed. 

Sami had a dire headache. She had had it for some weeks at this point. There was just too much to do at the moment. Even if Sami had been able to finish everything that needed to be done, there would be more to do. The work was also not the sort that Sami enjoyed or was actually properly capable of. Since that morning, another four battleships had limped into port, two of which were almost beyond repair. Sami smiled, since Andy had actually volunteered to personally begin the repairs on the crippled Yellow Comet vessels by himself. Despite the supposed surrender of Green Earth, their landers had been continuing to arrive sporadically, all full of units needing fuel, ammunition and often repairs. Even Blue Moon evacuation forces were continuing to arrive. Orange Star was now the home of all four armies, or at least as much as was left after the disastrous first counteroffensives. The situation wasn't looking encouraging. A Black Hole assault on these unspoiled shores was absolutely inevitable, but it had not come so far. It seemed increasingly unlikely with every battle scarred craft drifting into Orange Star waters that the necessary repairs would have been done to have a large enough force ready. Manpower, money and resources were running short.

Sami was distracted by the sudden noise of her name being called. She stood and turned to see Max standing on the beach, looking slightly out of place and awkward when not in or near a tank. Max looked up at her and said,

"Nell sent me out here. She wants everyone back at the HQ now. I think she's got something to say"

Sami nodded and walked back towards the Orange Star ports, lying on the east coast of Orange Star territory, itself the most eastern island of the four countries. Sami and Max silently walked around the bay and back into view of the overcrowded port. The quays had long since been fully occupied, forcing new temporary ones to be set up to house the increasingly large volume of ships. A far greater number of ships had been moored further around the coast, waiting their repairs, most being completely inoperable for now. The airports were a slightly better story, or a worse one depending on one's point of view. Very few aircraft had managed to get to Orange Star, some because of their absolute inability to stand up to missile and anti air attacks and others because of a lack of fuel and unoccupied allied airports. As they walked through the bustling port, Max stopped and turned to Sami,

"I'll just be a second, I've got to get Andy as well"

Far from what Sami had expected, Max turned towards the nearest ship and yelled Andy's name very loudly. Sami smiled to herself; this was pure Max – blunt, no-nonsense, unsubtle, yet surprisingly effective. As Max often bellowed loudly during battles, he was indeed 'no show-off'. Andy's beaming head, clearly loving the opportunity to potentially spend the rest of his life repairing highly complex and expensive equipment, popped into view from the main deck of a Green Earth cruiser and gleefully began,

"Hey guys! Hey, I've finished with the repairs, oh, and I added some plating to the flanks to reinforce the hull! Trust me, this won't sink!"

"Good for you Andy" yelled up Sami, "How many more to go before you get bored of this?"

"I admit," replied Andy with a laugh, "they won't all be this fun, but I can always tweak the cannons and that never gets dull!"

"Andy, we're due elsewhere," said Sami, "I think Nell may have come up with a solid plan, so get down here, ok?"

"Head on without me, ok? I've got to get started on the Green Earth artillery and I want to check all the firing mechanisms before dark. I'll make sure that Jess can hold her own when Black Hole invades! Do you have any idea how much a slight adjustment to the system can do to your accuracy at medium range? I can't wait to see them in battle!"

"Listen Andy," said Max, "stop looking forwards to a Black Hole invasion and get down here now! Don't you think of anything except mechanics? What's the point of fixing anything if you don't even know what you're doing with it? Come on!"

Andy, as normal, smirked and didn't answer back to Max. Sami beamed at them both. Only she seemed to see that both of them were immensely well intentioned, but just in different fields.

The three COs, who had seen the first two Black Hole invasions together, strolled down the long red tiled path to the Orange Star regional HQ, which was presently acting as the permanent base of operations, given how it was conveniently close to the arriving evacuating units. Strolling under the ornate pillars that lined the front of the building, they walked through the large octagonal entrance hall, which was full of elite infantry from each alliance, each unit the personal bodyguard of one of the COs that occupied the building. 

Sami and the others took the corridor straight ahead of the main entrance and walked down a long well lit corridor, with each window featuring a portrait of an Orange Star chief of the past. As they reached the end of the hallway, they passed a recent portrait of Hachi, grinning with his arms folded, and then Nell, a polite smile on her face as always, and then they turned left through a set of wooden double doors into a large conference room. 

The front of the room was filled with what was almost a stage with a large screen behind it on the wall. The seating was staggered and rose to the back of the room. The only windows were thin strips of glass at the very top of the room, but even these were covered by curtains at the moment, since the area was lit by electric lights alone. Sami was pleased to see that many COs she knew were here once again in a large group, although the reunion was soured by the circumstances that had brought it about, something that didn't seem to bother Andy as he bounded forwards like an excited puppy to greet Eagle and Kanbei. Max himself sauntered forwards gloomily and innately sat towards the back of the room, as it had done in his school days as well, something which he compared to tactical briefings as least in terms of interest, if not use. Max's place was on the battlefield and, as Max would continually remind him at least, Andy's was supposedly in primary school. 

Sami looked up and around at the many faces she knew. At the very front of the room sat Colin, the least experienced CO in the room. He unquestionably led with a shaky and often uncertain command, lacking faith in his own abilities. Nonetheless, he had proved his skills in the second Black Hole invasion and the power of money was not doubted by anyone in the room, as it was well known that Colin was matchless in rapidly deploying what should have been an expensive army in a very short time. Sadly, it was said that his spirit and desire to do the right thing, one of his strongest assets in former times, had been crushed by the loss of his mentors, Olaf and Grit, both shot down behind enemy lines. Had Grit not been there, Sami was certain that they would have been officially presumed dead by now by Nell, but his presence inspired hope. As it was, they were just missing in action, though this was no consolation to Colin. Sami's biggest worry was that, with Olaf and Grit trapped together, they actually might kill each other, though she possessed the tact to both not say it and not tell Max, who would certainly tell everyone, including Colin.

Sat just behind Colin was Sonja, the brilliant tactician of Yellow Comet, who's skilful use of planning, preparation and gathering intel had certainly helped rout Adder and Lash in the second wars and had almost single-handedly exposed Sturm's plans in the first invasion. Sami had heard that, when her father had refused to return from the front lines despite facing overwhelming odds against him, Sonja had managed to persuade him to return to safety by sending a message through a soldier that claimed that she had been slightly injured in an ambush. Her father had indeed returned immediately and, faced with the views of both his daughter and his former mentor, had consented to order a full retreat from his own territory. Sonja had organised the evacuation and her execution of the idea of a convoy of landers supported by air units and ships had ensured that Yellow Comet troops suffered very little on the journey. Fiery and determined, confident and calm, Sonja was a powerful ally to have.

Not far behind Sonja was the aged paratrooper Sensei. A CO for the longest time, he was said to have unbeatable in his day, but still boasted alarmingly powerful B-copters and infantry. A calming influence in Yellow Comet, he was vastly respected by everyone and even more by Kanbei himself. Always opposed to war, he had nevertheless defended his homeland valiantly from Black Hole. However, he had the wit to see that Kanbei's tactics would not win the day and had persuaded the sometimes rash samurai to give up on a failing campaign. As Sensei had told Kanbei, it may well be turning his back on his duty to leave his people, but to throw away his army in hot haste helped nobody. Sensei, having learnt many lessons from life, was perhaps the most sensible of the COs.

Kanbei sat, looking uncomfortable not to be on a battlefield, just next to Sensei. His sword was by his side as always, ready to defend his country, personally if necessary. He sense of honour knew no bounds, just as his patriotism was unsurpassed by anyone else. A brilliant commander, his troops were easily the most powerful of anybody's due to their superior training by him. Kanbei greatly preferred to use only elite troops in small numbers over greater numbers of inferior units. It was one of his personal sources of pride that he would never, so he claimed, send a single man on a path he would not happily follow himself, and this had led him to wish to stay with his people in Yellow Comet, even as the rest of the army had fled. Outraged at Black Hole's invasion, he had sent every available unit into battle and, though he had met the greatest sustained success of any CO so far against the new Black Hole army, he had been beaten back, though he took consolation that he had never sounded a retreat before the evacuation order had been given, although Sonja had contested this strategy on many occasions.

In the middle of the conference room, the three Green Earth COs sat more or less together, since Eagle and Jess appeared to be trying to intermittently ignore each other and argue with each other and Drake sat between them to act as a shield or mediator as appropriate. Drake often took this role, or rather had it forced upon him by necessity. Drake was, of course, the naval commander of Green Earth. His skills with water allowed him to navigate ships far faster than anyone else, move troops around in heavy rain as if it wasn't there and emerge from sea storms that tore other fleets apart without a scratch. A CO of great humility with an unassuming nature, he was instantly likeable and popular amongst those he commanded. Despite his carefree attitude, it was well known that he was a sound commander. It was his fleet that had ensured that what was left of Green Earth's army had safely reached Orange Star. His navy, though it had played a fairly small role in the defence of Green Earth, had yet to defeated, though it had been forced to retreat by air units. His greater task and challenge, however, had always been to try and get Jess and Eagle to get along, which had eventually given way to organising the evacuation so that Jess and Eagle would always travel on different ships and hopefully not see each other at any point.

To the right of Drake sat Jess, the bravest of all the COs, and the only one who insisted on leading from the very front line at all times. Herself a former member of the Green Earth army, she rose to the rank of sub commander and then CO, although attracted the long term criticism of Eagle by leaving to train abroad and not returning until the second Black Hole invasion. Her ground forces had held their lines well against the Black Hole troops, but couldn't resist the numbers that Black Hole had somehow amassed. 

Finally, Eagle sat to the left of Drake, looking slightly paler than Sami had remembered him. He had once been so proud and confident in his own abilities, and not without due cause, as an unsurpassed aerial specialist. He was the hero of the people of Green Earth; the iconic and daring pilot, son of a legend, peerless in the skies. A natural leader, he clashed with the equally fiery Jess over many decisions, not least as the Green Earth constitution never made it clear which of them was supposed to make executive decisions and overrule the other. Eagle naturally felt it should be him, though he secretly thought that Drake would do the best job, as Eagle greatly respected his calmness and ability to never get caught up in the moment and say or do anything stupid, as Jess was well known to do, as Eagle thought anyway. Eagle had recently had his confidence dented by the Black Hole invasion. After the second invasion, he had sworn to increase the strength of the air force, which he had done. He had created a vast number of bombers and fighters and had apparently trained many new sub-commanders himself. When the Black Hole army was first spotted, Eagle set off before Jess or Drake were able to organise any support, ready to crush them himself before Jess arrived to get in the way. His air force had inflicted incredible losses on Black Hole, wiping out unprecedented numbers of units in an incredibly short space of time. Had the invasion been by any other army, then it would have been wiped out in this one battle, but the remarkable power of Eagle's air force couldn't stand up to the never ending lines of reinforcements. Eagle's attack had faltered as the bombers couldn't keep up with Black Hole. Too late had Eagle noticed that he was surrounded. Eagle had watched his sub-commanders be shot out of the sky and his air force, his pride and joy, be almost wiped out. An air force that had caused the most damage Black Hole had ever suffered returned to the Green Earth capital in tatters. Eagle hadn't had the heart to face Jess, and Jess lacked the heartless spite to mock a broken man. Fortunately, Eagle had since recovered from his subsequent depression and partially rebuilt an air force, even feeling able to argue with Jess again and defend his actions as he used to, appearing once more invulnerable to criticism, while Jess felt quite able to argue back. However, he was still deeply hurt by what had happened and ready for revenge.

Sami, having seen everyone, sat down towards the back of the room, just in front of Max. The COs fell silent shortly afterwards as Nell rose from her chair at the front and got up onto the raised platform. She looked down for a moment before raising her head towards the back of the room and beginning,

"I thank you all for coming, although I offer my condolences to you all that your presence here is both under the most tragic circumstances and against your will, as it is probably a matter of compulsion. Though it is through great reluctance that I am forced to impart what I am about to say, largely due to the ragged state of your armies, strong necessity demands strong leadership and firm action, something that I am sure you will all appreciate given the circumstances. The Black Hole army, led by Hawke, who, despite the brave efforts of Blue Moon, has been seen leading armies in Yellow Comet since Grit's attempt to remove him from the war, is the largest ever by far. Their strength, as many of you are witnesses to, seems unable to be equalled or even approached in open battle. Intelligence strongly suggests that they have built several factories in every territory, each better protected than in the last war. It would also seem that they have learnt from their mistakes in the past. 

The previous invasion was able to be repelled partly due to Black Hole's excessive haste; the simultaneous invasion of all four territories ensured that their resources were always over-stretched and this presented us with a method of resistance. This time, the invasion has been well organised and well focussed, driving you all to our shores. 

It is evident that Black Hole is a threat to us all. Therefore, we must abandon all notions of territory or existing alliances. We have already failed separately. The time has come to join our strength and lend our might to each other. Only then do we even have a chance. We must form into an alliance, under a single banner"

As Nell paused with a sad look on her face, the other COs began talking hurriedly amongst themselves. Nell closed her eyes for a moment and waited for the inevitable. It was Sensei who stood up first and demanded of Nell,

"And who, may I ask, is to lead this alliance?"

"I…" Nell hesitated, this was the worst question that could have come up, "There will be no direct leadership as such. The alliance must act according to the ruling of the majority"

"And as for executive decisions, when no group verdict can be reached?" added Sensei, clearly well aware that this was a crucial point

"Then we will act as intelligence reports tell us is sensible" replied Nell, sweat drops appearing on her brow

"Now Nell," said Sensei, standing up a third time, "don't play games with us or try to mislead me with words. You are well aware that any alliance needs someone to make decisions. Now, who is it to be?"

"I admit, I am aware of this" replied Nell, "The problem is that most of you in this room do not possess an impartial view point. Any of you would, as is quite natural, seek to liberate your own country first. Therefore, it strikes me as the only option to put Orange Star, as an unoccupied power and the base of allied operations, in charge of the coalition forces."

The room reacted in a particularly and predictably discontented manner at this announcement. It was Eagle who first stood up and declared to the room,

"How dare you, Nell! You wait until your allies are broken powers, in the direst state of affairs, in the greatest need of your aid, crawling to your untouched ports while ours are overrun, and you now have the audacity to demand that we become your empire, your slaves! I will not tolerate this, and I would rather liberate Green Earth alone than abandon my forces to an alliance that I have no say over!"

"Sit down Eagle!" hissed Jess, standing up and turning to him as Drake hid his face in his hands and shook his head solemnly, "Your bravado may stand up some of the time, but only when you have the troops to back it up! You could have boasted all you wanted while we were still in Green Earth and you still possessed a large air force, but you had to throw that ace out of your hand as soon as you could, didn't you? Now, it's time for you to learn how to sit quietly and take orders for the first time in your life. We are desperately short of friends and strength at the moment and the last thing me and Drake need is you invading Green Earth using only your own ego, though it is large enough to take Green Earth back I suppose, and the last thing that the alliance needs is a uncontrollable fool who never shuts up. And as for invading Green Earth yourself, if you couldn't push back an invading army with my help, how do you intend to do it against an army with a strong foothold in our land, with almost no air force, completely alone?"

Nell stood up from her seat and tried to speak, but Eagle got in before her, not seeming to notice her existence, and countered,

"So then, you would join yourself to an alliance that you know nothing about? You would abandon your homeland to hand over your forces to this little union? You, having spent your entire life rising to the position you are now, would throw in your lot with Orange Star while the Black Hole army pollutes our fatherland by its very presence? I always knew that you were coward, running away at the first opportunity you could, doing the bare minimum and escaping, but even I never thought of you as a traitor to your country!"

"Eagle, keep quiet! Your blustering rhetoric won't protect you now! You can stay or leave, and frankly I'd rather you leave, but that won't liberate Green Earth any faster! Audacity in words alone won't repel that army! You can't hide behind your image, your words or your father here! You lost to Black Hole, just as everyone else already has, but your skills could strength this alliance, an advantage that would be meaningless if you decided to act alone! Now sit down!"

"Fine, I'll stay for now, purely to hear more about the alliance out of curiosity, but I haven't joined up to anything yet, and if I hear anything I don't like, I'm taking my men and returning to my country"

Eagle and Jess both sat down and, since nobody else felt the need to raise any objection straight away, Nell continued,

"If nobody else wishes to speak, I have some ideas to put forward. Firstly, Orange Star is not an imperialistic power. Anybody who does not wish to join our alliance may leave immediately, completely freely. Also, in case it seems like you are being held here by your dependence on us, even if you don't wish to join us, your armies are still free to stay in our territory and we will continue to perform repairs on your vessels, irrespective of your desire to join us or act independently. Now, unless there are any violent objections, I consider it obvious that Sonja should act as our Head of Intelligence. Now, if that is agreed, I will hand over to her to detail the present situation exactly.

Sonja stood up and walked elegantly to the front, carrying several folders with her, before taking up a position just to the left of the screen. She breathed deeply and began to speak with great clearness,

"I thank you all for your confidence in my abilities. I will do my utmost to ensure that that confidence is not misplaced. Now, since we have all been driven from our homelands, the most pressing and urgent task is to ensure that we have a secure base of operations, and so we must make certain that Orange Star will be safe from invasion, since it is an invasion that we, even though united, are not yet able to repel. 

Firstly, the location of the Black Hole army. It would seem that, with each power officially put to flight, Black Hole has withdrawn the bulk of its forces from Blue Moon and Yellow Comet territory. Nonetheless, the occupational forces left behind are large enough to repel any force that we could send. The rest of Black Hole's army appears to have been moved to Green Earth. It makes logically sense that this has been done in order to repair damaged units and refuel prior to the final overwhelming assault on these shores.

Our only advantage comes from the terrain of this region. As you are aware, in this area, every territory is completely independent from any other territory, each separated by vast tracts of sea. This means that Black Hole's army can only move in landers, though it can be supported by air units and naval units. Nonetheless, while there is little we can do about air and naval units, an assault made purely with them might be resisted, since it is the ground army that makes up the overwhelming bulk of Black Hole's troops. Thus, if we can immobilise Black Hole's landers, we can buy ourselves precious time to repair and increase our strength.

This is where the vastness of the ocean is advantageous to us. It is fortunate that no fleet could get all the way from Green Earth to Orange Star without refuelling on the journey. The ports of Blue Moon and Yellow Comet, since there is easy entrance and escape by sea, are proving a centre of resistance that Black Hole has yet to crack, and so they will not dare to put into any port in Blue Moon and Yellow Comet in case it is an ambush; an army inside landers is at its most vulnerable. This leaves only one option – Black Hole will have to make the journey directly from Green Earth to Orange Star. As I said, this is impossible, so they must be planning to refuel on the journey somewhere, and I believe that I have found the location"

Sonja paused and pressed a button on a remote control. The electric lights dimmed and a projector at the rear of the room whirred into life. A slightly blurred photo appeared on the screen, followed by several more similar ones. Each showed an island some way in the distance, with clear signs of being heavily industrialised. There was what appeared to be a large port on the seafront and large buildings behind the docks. Other than these structures, the island looked deserted, with thick forest covering most of the rest, except for the mountainous snow-capped peaks behind the buildings. After the photos came a map of the island from overhead with many odd markings on it. Sonja then continued, gesturing at the map with a pointer as she talked,

"This island lies directly on the shortest journey from Green Earth capital to Orange Star capital. It is certain from intelligence reports that only two weeks before Black Hole was first spotted in Green Earth this island was completely deserted. It seems that Black Hole has converted it into a refuelling depot ready for the invasion of Orange Star. If this can be destroyed then the invasion will have to be postponed until Blue Moon resistance in the ports gives up, given that Yellow Comet is also too far away for the journey to be made in a single trip. It is my belief that Blue Moon could hold out for some time, quite possibly since its resistance may still be under expert leadership, although I would prefer not to speculate on these matters. Nonetheless, destroying this depot will buy us essential time.

Now, as for actually how to destroy the depot, this will be much harder. The depot is exceedingly well armoured and well protected, leading me to the conclusion that only a full strength bombing campaign would be able to penetrate the shielding. Eagle, I assume that you, being so eager to get back into action, will lead this force?"

"I would do so happily" replied Eagle, "except I don't have a satisfactory air force to achieve what you're asking of me"

"Every airport in Orange Star is at your disposal. Do as you see fit. Now, unfortunately, the matter is not that simple. It seems that Black Hole is also well aware that a bombing run could inflict massive damage. Therefore, the defences they have ready are largely designed to deal with an airborne attack. There is a strong presence of missile emplacements and anti aircraft guns. A direct assault against these defences would be suicide, irrespective of the size of the force. Therefore, the attack must be two pronged. The night before the attack is due, Drake has volunteered to transfer a force of vehicular units onto the far side of the island, shielded by darkness. Once there, they will proceed under the cover of the forests to just outside the port perimeter. At dawn, these forces will move in and destroy all anti aircraft weaponry and only anti aircraft weaponry. These forces will then withdraw back into the forests and be picked up by Drake in an emergency evacuation. It is essential that the attack happens on schedule and efficiently, as the bomber strike will occur ten minutes after dawn. If the anti air defences are not down then the attack will be aborted"

Eagle turned to his fellow COs and muttered,

"An assault against an unknown enemy on the ground with no support, with no certainty of not being detected in advance and no certain escape route. Which fool's leading that suicide mission?"

"As I have discussed with her already, Jess has agreed to lead the ground forces. Jess, is your strike team ready yet?" continued Sonja

"Not yet," replied Jess, "Andy's still working on it"

"There's no urgent hurry, it will take time for Eagle to build up his force anyway, but I would feel comfortable if the preparations could be speeded up"

"You both knew about this?" hissed Eagle across at his fellow COs as Sonja continued, getting no response

The meeting continued for some time as Sonja continued to discuss what she could make out from her photos and worked out tactics, and the meeting ended shortly afterwards. Eagle and Jess left the room without a word to each other. Eagle heading straight for the nearest airport, Jess pushing Andy out towards the nearest base, and Drake going for a quick nap, which became an extended nap, which turned out to last until eleven the next morning.

As Nell pointed out to Sonja later that day, a combined Green Earth offensive was surely unstoppable…


	3. Crossroads

Some time later and far afield from Orange Star, a small task force of Green Earth landers cut through the dark ocean. A dim grey moon cast a grudging light across the black waters. A man not given to being awake at such hours, or indeed being awake at any given time, stood at the very front of the deck of the leading craft, itself only a lander. The man greatly enjoyed to personally travel with his naval forces, although he usually stayed at the controls, despite a preference for fresh air on the deck of a swiftly moving ship. In former times a warm bed had been far more appealing, but Eagle had been less than amused when he had discovered that this was where Drake had spent the majority of the first campaign against Sturm, and Drake now tolerated the ordeal of waiting for a nap until he was in port.

Drake listened to himself breathing over the gentle noises of the sea and turned to see Jess approaching him. Drake folded his arms and warmly and jokingly began to chastise her,

"Now Jess, you should be getting some sleep. You'll need to be in top shape tomorrow. After all, the going isn't going to be easy"

"And what about you Drake?" replied Jess with a smile

"You should know that I sleep when I want. Anyway, I'm not going to be doing anything like you will be tomorrow"

Jess didn't reply to this. After a short pause, Drake turned back out to sea and said in as unassuming and as casual voice as possible,

"We don't have to go through with this. Just give the word and we'll call the whole thing off. We could form a larger army. I know that this is important, but we can't be foolhardy about the matter"

"No," replied Jess, staring at the distant island, "we can't pull back now. Anyway, Eagle is ready to go, and I can't let him down"

"Eagle isn't on the frontlines, Jess, you are, and you'll be taking the brunt of this assault on the ground. It's your decision alone"

"No, I'll go in, I won't be called a coward"

"By Eagle?"

"By anyone" replied Jess bluntly, with a hint of annoyance in her voice

"Did you get the chance to see Eagle before you left?"

"Perhaps, briefly"

"Did you have anything to say to each other?"

"No, he didn't bother to affront me in advance"

"Nothing at all?"

"No" said Jess, after a pause that was slightly too brief

"That's the problem with you two," said Drake as he strolled back towards his own room with Jess just behind, "you just never talk to each other"

"It's not my fault. I've tried before. Sometimes. He just always starts on a tirade of abuse as soon as he gets the opportunity. I never wanted him as an enemy"

"Did you ever tell him that?"

"I… I don't have time to worry about these things now, Drake. I have an attack to lead… and you shortly have a fleet to moor and troops to unload. I'll speak to you after the attack"

"As you wish, Jess, good luck"

"Luck does not win battles, Drake"

Shortly afterwards, the landers pushed forwards into the sandy shoreline and the ground forces began to disembark. Drake, with the units unloaded and ready to go, wandered down the beach, looking for Jess, but it seemed as if she didn't want to be found, and the ground troops began to move forwards. As they slowly pressed on into the darkness, moving unhurriedly to maintain silence, Drake watched as tanks and artillery units crept into the dark cover of trees and disappeared from view. Drake watched every unit leave, the lapping waves ensuring that there was no evidence that they had ever been there. As he prepared to move the fleet around the coast to a sheltered and out of sight bay, ready to move back for the evacuation later, Drake turned to the army, far from his view, and muttered after it,

"Good luck anyway Jess"

Some hours later, Jess stood perfectly still in a dimly lit forest clearing. The rosy dawn had not yet appeared, but the eastern skies glowed increasingly red. As the weak light penetrated the branches above her, Jess smiled as the fresh dew on her own tank glistened softly. Jess normally didn't notice such things, but always seemed to perceive little details like that just before an attack. Drake had always teased her by saying that this was the only time she could ever stay still for more than a minute. Jess shook off her quiet contemplation. Any second the sun would appear. That was the signal for the artillery and rocket units to fire at will at the sea front, the location of most of the fixed missile emplacements. After the first strike, the indirect fire would cease, and Jess would lead the main attack personally, hopefully taking advantage of the confusion.

Jess stared to the east through a gap in the foliage. Any second now, the signal would appear. She would have her chance to avenge herself for the humiliation she had suffered in Green Earth. As she stared out at the black waters, the first fraction of the sun appeared, casting a beautiful yellow shimmer across the sea and into the very heart of the bay. As the first birds sang towards the sun, the peace was shattered by the sudden explosive noise of the unified attack. Jess watched as shells flew above her, smashing into the port and tearing apart the fragile missile emplacements. Walls crumbled, quays collapsed, walkways were pounded into dust, the pristine courtyards were filled with craters. After what seemed to be an eternity, the guns stopped, and Jess, leaping into the nearest medium tank, turned to her men and proclaimed loudly and simply,

"Charge!"

Not so far from the noise and confusion of where Jess was, Eagle was sitting back in a comfortable chair. As he sometimes did, Eagle was leading the attack from the front as well. He was inside the spacious cockpit of his own bomber, sitting well back from the controls, at the very back of the cockpit. A pilot dealt with the technical details, since Eagle was there purely to co-ordinate the attack as well as he could by radio. Eagle could, as he constantly reminded people, fly a plane for himself, in fact, as Eagle actually told people, he could take any plane and fly it far better than any other man in Green Earth, a fact that Jess contested as often as Eagle said it. Eagle disliked travelling to attacks, since he always felt useless and awkward. He shone on a battlefield, not on a mind-numbing journey. 

Eagle, having been told by his pilot that they were approaching the island, casually reached for the radio beside him. He pulled the receiver close to him and spoke to Sonja, who was still back in Orange Star, but was dealing with communications there,

"Sonja, do you read me?"

"Yes, go ahead"

"Are the anti air defences down?"

"Yes, Jess has reported in, and you are free to proceed"

Eagle smiled. He was most contented that Jess had overcome her natural aversion to success and competence and actually accomplished her mission. Now Eagle would get his chance. Eagle loved the opportunity to prove himself, and nothing would have annoyed him more than having to spend all this time building up his forces, doing all this preparation, creating all the hysteria that he must have done amongst the COs about what great damage he was going to do to Black Hole and what a crushing victory it would be, only to have to turn back because Jess couldn't take down defenceless anti air units with an excessively large force of tanks, although at least this would compensate for her bad tactical decisions, as Eagle supposed. Still, she had succeeded, against all of Eagle's expectations, and he would thank her when they got back to base, if, of course, he was able to get away from the party that would surely be thrown in honour of his grand victory.

Eagle asked the pilot to put him through to the rest of the squadron, which composed of twenty brand new bombers. Eagle pulled the receiver of the radio to him again and spoke to the men,

"All units, this is Eagle, you now have your chance to have revenge on the scum that drove you from your homes. Remember that speed is the lifeblood of battle. Hit them fast and hit them hard. We go in, we drop our payload, and then we get out. Don't even give them time to regret what they have done to us. Remember, you are all soldiers of Green Earth, you are all men that I know and trust, now proceed and make me proud to boast that I was your Commander! All units, move into attack formations!"

Eagle put the receiver back into place and strolled forwards to the front of the bomber, watching the island move ever closer to him. Eagle was almost sad that this would be so easy. Unfortunately, fate, that fickle creature with its cruel sense of humour, was quite happy to mock him for his wish. Eagle was slightly bemused to hear Drake's voice come over the radio, a note of urgency tangible even through the grainy quality of the transmission. Eagle thought little of it, contented that he had proof that Drake was fully conscious, and strolled back to the radio. Picking up the receiver once more, Drake's voice rushed hurriedly into Eagle's ear,

"Eagle! We've got a problem here! I've spotted a fleet approaching us in the distance. It seems to be gathering speed"

"How close is it to you?"

"It's still a way off, but Jess better hurry up"

"Drake, why are you so panicked? Can't you deal with a little fire from a few units anymore?" teased Eagle

"Eagle, the fleet's huge! I can't see the full numbers, but I'd guess that there are at least 50 landers and as many offensive vessels"

"That must be the Orange Star invasion fleet then. It looks like we're just in time. All we need to do now is destroy the depot and the fleet will have to turn back"

"Well that's just lovely, but what about Jess?"

"She isn't even back with you yet?"

"No, a few units returned and the captains are reporting that they encountered exceedingly strong resistance on the ground during the main assault"

"I should have known that she'd stay until every last tank was ready to evacuate. Don't worry, she'll be there before that fleet arrives. Anyway, I have to go, we're almost in position for the first bombing run"

Eagle paced more quickly back to the front window and looked back at the island. Something wasn't right. He squinted and tried to ascertain what he had just seen exactly. Then it became clear. He saw an explosion from inside the depot, and then another one. Eagle felt sick as he realised that he was absolutely certain that what he had just seen was several Green Earth units still in the base. Eagle ordered the pilot to put him through to the rest of the fleet and seized the receiver with trembling hands,

"All units, stay in present formation but pull up, Green Earth forces are still in the base, we are aborting the attack, I repeat, pull up!"

Eagle turned to his own pilot, who gave him a nervous glance back over his shoulder before turning the bomber harshly around and back out to sea. Eagle snatched at the receiver as Sonja's voice came over the radio,

"Eagle, we've had a communication from Jess, she's still in the base, but is trying to fight her way out now"

"What happened?"

"She was encircled"

"You told us that she had enough troops to complete your mission" Eagle almost whispered with rage in his voice

"I… I couldn't have known… Eagle, there's a fleet coming, the attack has to continue anyway"

"I will not bomb my own men and fellow COs because of your little miscalculations, or to protect your precious union!"

"Eagle, that fleet is going to arrive shortly in any case. If you don't destroy that depot then Jess will be captured anyway and you will destroy us all by your folly. If you begin the attack, there will be losses, but it's for the greater good"

"Losses? Yes, my losses, and for your good. No wonder this is a Green Earth offensive, dare I ask why your troops weren't sent on this suicide mission as well?"

"Now is not the time to squabble amongst ourselves! Eagle, Jess knew the risks involved when she took this mission, and she volunteered anyway. Do you think she would want to be the reason that this attack failed? Do you think she wants you to abort the attack while she is still trying to escape from the front lines? Do you think that she would want her capture to be for no reason? What would she do in your position? Yield to her personal feelings or do her duty?"

Eagle didn't reply. The bombers had nearly circled around the bay. They were almost in position for another attack run. Eagle grudgingly asked the pilot to put him though to the fleet again,

"All units, prepare to make another run at the depot"

Eagle stared at his feet, unable to gaze at the island that he would so shortly destroy completely. As the bombers drew up their attack formation again, Eagle's pilot turned to him and exclaimed,

"Sir, a small group of our landers is passing underneath us. Their course is set for the depot. Should I put you through to the bombers again, sir?"

"No," yelled Eagle, running back to the radio once more, "Drake!" he yelled as he clutched the receiver, "What are you doing! We're about to attack, get out of here!"

"I've heard everything Eagle, and I don't want Jess dead anymore than you. If she's trapped, then I guess that means the evacuation's going to have to be revised a bit. After all, if the hammock won't come to the pirate, as sadly rarely happens, then I guess the pirate will just have to go to hammock"

"Drake, return to your original position!"

"I can't, that fleet's moving more rapidly than I thought it would. I guess Adder must be the Commander for it to get here so fast. I couldn't wait there and battleships will be blocking the harbour entrance any moment. I have to go now"

"Drake, you'll be trapped"

"I'll be fine, don't you worry about me"

"Drake, don't do this!" yelled Eagle, barely able to speak by this point, "I… I can't lose you both. I can't go on alone"

"You'll thank me when you don't lose either of us"

"Drake! Drake, answer me!" Eagle dropped the receiver to the floor, which ended up hanging by the cord connecting it to the radio, as it became clear that Drake had turned off his transmitter.

Eagle saw Drake's vessels briefly out of the corner of his eye before the bombers accelerated to attack speed and Drake disappeared out of view beneath the planes. Eagle said nothing, far removed from the Eagle that had fought off Hawke in Green Earth years before. In every battle he had been strong willed, totally certain of his strength and victory, unstoppable, famously declaring to beaten foes how the Eagle soared above them.

Eagle closed his eyes as the bombs fell. The sound of bombs falling normally pleased him immensely. It was the sound of death falling towards his enemies. Today he was dropping death on his friends. He used to laugh at each intensely deafening explosion, happy that he had done so much damage to those foolish enough to oppose him. Today, he willed each explosion to be tiny, every bomb to fail to detonate, willing for his own attack to fail, terrified that he was destroying those who he cared about.

Eagle knew that there was still a single slender hope for Jess and Drake. It was not impossible that Drake could have got Jess onto a lander and escaped by sea. Eagle couldn't see what was happening beneath him. As the bomber swooped round for the second and final pass, Eagle's eyes were not on the flaming and ruined target, as they would have been in any other attack, but were scanning the sea, desperately seeking out a Green Earth lander with his eyes, willing it to be in the open ocean, away from the fire and devastation that he was responsible for.

Eagle kept scanning the sea for far longer than he needed to. There was no lander. They had either been destroyed or were still in the port. Eagle looked on to see Black Hole battleships and cruisers already completely blocking the entrance to the harbour. Eagle had a last gasp of resolve left in him. He turned to his pilot and said,

"Prepare to attack those battleships, we have to clear the escape route for Jess and Drake"

"Sir," replied the pilot dejectedly, "we don't have any bombs left. We dropped everything on the base, as we were ordered"

Eagle, a failure to his friends, his determination extinguished by his feeling of helplessness, a man who had lost everyone dear to him, fell backwards into a chair. His pride was shattered. He was leaving Drake and Jess dead or in Adder's hands, in which case they were as good as dead already. Either course made him a coward. His words were empty now, as Jess had told him, and only his actions counted, and they had killed his friends. Eagle never cried. To cry was to show weakness, and to show weakness was to admit defeat. His father had told him that. Eagle, for the first time in his life, knew that he was defeated, and so he cried unashamedly as the bombers flew back to base.


	4. Hope and Distrust

Some days later, the COs were sitting in the same conference room as the fateful attack had been put forwards in. Eagle sat, unlike before, at the very front of the seating, on the far side of the row from Colin, himself at the very front, having arrived at least 30 minutes before anyone else according to his very disposition. Eagle caught Colin's eye for a moment and gave him a weak smile, and received an equally weak one in return. Although everyone was already in attendance, the hall was looking very empty. Now the abilities of Olaf, Grit, Drake and Jess were all absent, when they were most sorely needed.

There had been a great deal of restless muttering in the past few days between the COs, who had been shocked that Sonja's very first strategy, what seemed to have been a fairly routine operation under the direction of specialists in every field at the frontlines, had been such a humiliation for the alliance, having lost a significant number of ground units and a full naval taskforce.

Sonja herself had said Black Hole couldn't be taken on in direct combat, and that they would need to act slyly to gain the advantage. Sonja had then failed to achieve anything, having done nothing except slow down the full strength invasion, but had lost a significant amount of military equipment. Perhaps the most damning criticism that befell her was that Kanbei, always the first to defend her vigorously in former times, had been notable by his silence while his daughter's plans had been openly attacked.

Further doubts were being harboured on Eagle's abilities. While he had done exactly what had been required, his subsequent behaviour had been inconsistent and unpredictable. Drake's men had pleaded with Eagle to allow them to hold a formal ceremony to mark his passing, but Eagle had forbidden it. It was recognised that Sonja and Eagle had spoken briefly since the attack, but nobody knew exactly what had been said, although Eagle was still in Orange Star, so there could not have been too much spitefulness.

Silence fell on the room as Sonja, who had been seen less and less in public recently, entered and ascended to the stage without any introduction from Nell, as was traditional. She began bluntly,

"I thank you all for coming. Firstly, despite the circumstances, which are unfortunate, it must be said that we have fulfilled our objectives up to this point; the invasion force of Black Hole was taken off guard by the speed of our attack and the invasion has stalled. It would appear that our action has caused a great deal of confusion, as the fleet, suddenly terrified of running out of fuel, broke formation and fled randomly. Some vessels headed for Yellow Comet, some for Green Earth and a quite significant number of the naval forces, mainly submarines, were lost. It will take some time for Black Hole to reorganise this fleet. While the price may seem high, the last battle was a victory"

"Victory?" roared Eagle, his fury released, "And what were the terms of victory? For at least one of your poker chips to come back alive? You have thrown away our best chance of winning any land or naval encounter. A few more victories like that and we'll have lost this war!"

"Eagle," replied Sonja quietly, "I'm sorry that the matter turned out like this, but nobody was expecting a war without casualties, that is naïve. I would hope that you would all appreciate that we can't win this war without the occasion gamble"

"Gambles are only worth taking when you win them, Sonja. A competent leader would not have ventured so much on a mission she knew so little about"

"We did inflict far heavier causalities than we received"

"Don't play games with me Sonja. You know as well as I do that Black Hole suffered insignificant losses considering their army's size. We however lost units that we needed to win this war"

"Eagle, I am sorry, but we have more pressing problems. Word has just arrived that an average sized naval taskforce has appeared off the northern coast of Orange Star territory. A group of battleships are bombarding the port's defences…"

Eagle rose from his seat, his aura of pure rage silencing Sonja. His hands and whole body shook violently. Sonja stood on the raised area perfectly still, unable to face the hot and furious fixed stare of Eagle. Eagle finally brought himself to speak,

"There is a fleet attacking Orange Star? You told us that my companions and I were deployed to destroy the one site with which Black Hole could refuel a fleet. Everything that Green Earth sacrificed was to keep this land safe. I threw away everything to stop a fleet reaching this country. And now you are looking me in the face and telling me that a fleet reached here anyway. Explain yourself"

"I can't"

"Everything Jess and Drake sacrificed was in vain? To take out an island base that meant nothing? To keep this country free for an extra three days, perhaps? Do you have any idea where this fleet refuelled? Any daring missions planned against a new depot? Who's being sent on their final mission today to keep your league in business for another week?"

"Eagle…"

"Just tell me, where has this fleet come from?"

"I… I don't know"

"No wild speculation?"

Sonja looked up at her father, who, after catching her eye for a second, looked downwards and failed to say anything. Sonja failed to answer Eagle further but continued to speak to the tense members of the room,

"Whatever has been done in the past is already done. We must now look forwards. The northern ports of Orange Star must not fall into enemy hands. If they are able to seize a strong foothold then this war is over. However this force got here, if it is able to set up a safe anchorage and unloading point for Black Hole troops then more troops will follow. Therefore, we must respond with all our force to this force and prevent the landers from getting ashore. The fleet is bombarding the defences of the port and the local resistance won't stand up to much more. We must head north immediately to relieve the beleaguered town to defend this country and have any hope at all"

"What makes you suppose that you still have any authority over me anymore" said Eagle more calmly from his seat

"I suppose nothing. I am simply reporting the facts of the matter. As ever, anyone who wishes to leave may do so now," said Sonja despondently, before pausing, although everyone stayed in their seats, "however, my role in this matter has ended. A Commander that lets down their men just the once may have lost their trust forever. I hereby resign any formal duties as Head of Intelligence of this alliance and hand over my responsibilities to Nell"

The reaction was silence with perhaps a hint of muted surprise, although some people had foreseen this happening

As Sonja sank into the seat next to her father, who hugged her without a sound, Nell rose up onto the platform and spoke to the group,

"I am aware that this alliance has started less positively than we had hoped, but we must not allow this turn of events to dishearten us. Now is the time when, most of all, we must be strong. We must send our forces north to the ports or all will be lost for every one of us. However, I believe that at this moment, your troops should be free to go wherever you feel they are necessary. If anyone has any other mission that they wish to undertake, I encourage them to speak now"

"I do"

The COs were shaken out of their gloomy silence by the sound of this voice. Some dismissed what they thought they had heard, or rather refused to believe that it had been spoken by who they thought had uttered the words. For perhaps the first time, the hall was forced to take notice of the voice of Colin. Nell smiled to herself as she asked,

"Colin, what do you wish to do?"

"Although I appreciate the need for unity now Commander Nell, I cannot stay silent any longer. It was through the sterling work of Commander Grit and Commander Olaf that the last mission was able to proceed. They have valiantly led the Blue Moon resistance against impossible odds for some time now. It is only fair that they are escorted to Orange Star with whatever troops they possess. This course of action will strength us both by increasing our troop numbers and by providing us with two more highly skilled Commanders"

"What do you need to fulfil this mission?" asked Nell

"I lack adequate troops to force my way ashore or hold back the enemy long enough to load the survivors into a evacuation vessels. I will happily deal with the evacuation, but I need a sufficiently strong force to push back the enemy long enough for the Blue Moon troops to get clear"

"Then you shall have my support!" declared Kanbei, "Olaf and Grit both stood beside me and helped to liberate Yellow Comet many years ago, for which I am forever indebted to them. Young Colin, your mentors will be rescued. Black Hole will not be able to resist our strength! A samurai never forgets his debts, and never fails to repay them!"

"Father, you may have my troops as well. I have no need of them. And Master Sensei, I must talk to you later" muttered Sonja to her fellow COs as Nell continued,

"In that case, the Orange Star and Green Earth forces will move north while the Blue Moon and Yellow Comet forces will launch a mission to evacuate the remaining Blue Moon resistance and its Commanding Officers. Given that both missions are somewhat urgent, and since I have little else to say that I cannot tell any of you individually later, I urge you all to leave immediately and rally your forces without delay. Unless there is any pressing reason not to, I feel that it is necessary to depart tomorrow"

With that, Nell left the stage and the room, leaving the other COs to leave at their leisure. Sonja and Sensei, however, stayed seated and waited for everyone to depart. As the final CO, Max, left, Sensei ambled to the door, closed it quietly and sat back down next to Sonja before saying kindly,

"What is troubling you Sonja?"

"Something that Eagle said, about… poker chips"

"You're thinking about what Lash said to you again, aren't you?"

"I can't be like her… Sensei, am I too devoted to stratagems and schemes? Do I fail to see the real cost of war?"

"This is a debate as old as war itself, and I can't answer it. All I can say is that if a CO can walk onto a battlefield full of slaughtered young men and call it a victory because more of the enemy are dead, then they have failed as a CO. However, if a CO cares so much for each man he commands that a single loss is unacceptable to them, then they have failed as well, but in a different way"

"Either way, I have certainly failed as a CO. You heard what Eagle said, and I know well enough what the others have said behind my back"

"I am sorry you had to endure that, but it was not my or your father's place to interfere. Anyway, you can fight your own battles"

"Not any more. I've failed. I was entrusted with intelligence duties for this alliance and, because of my failings, we have lost two COs and a huge amount of equipment, never mind the blow to morale"

"You have failed, but you must not spend your life lamenting that failure, Sonja. Any human will fail to some extent at some point. You may design perfect tactical devices for most of your life, but sooner or later you will fail. The fact is that you can't win in our position. As you succeed more in life, people foster higher and higher expectations of you. All it means is that when you do fail, you fall further out of grace. You have to be prepared to fail, even if you are the called the greatest tactician in this alliance"

"And what if you happened to be called unbeatable? The greatest CO that ever lived perhaps?"

"You are wise beyond your years, Sonja. I do indeed speak from experience"

"What happened to you Sensei? Why did you leave?"

"I was once called the greatest CO that ever lived. My generals called me unbeatable because that was true. My whole life was moving from one victorious battle to the next. Under my leadership, Yellow Comet's influence spread through the land. I helped to build our great nation. With every victory, everyone expected more of me. Then victory was not enough; battles had to be crushing triumphs with few casualties, won in a few days at little cost. Luck had its hand in the matter, I know that well enough.

Then one day, I pushed too far. Yellow Comet was moving outwards, conquering foreign territory, and I encountered an army I didn't recognise. I drew up every available unit at my disposal. I lost. Every unit was wiped out, overwhelmed by the enemy's strength. The army was Sturm's, but I didn't know that then. Yellow Comet withdrew and never attempted an assault on that land again. I don't even know where it was exactly. My people couldn't deal with the idea of their unbeatable general losing. A nation that had become soft through endless victories was horrified by the casualties. I was stripped of my rank and authority. I would have been sentenced to death, but I had friends in high places, so I escaped with a quiet exile"

"Sensei…"

"I didn't know what to do. I decided that I could still help my country. I determined to train new COs for Yellow Comet, so that I could help them, even if they wouldn't accept my own aid. I took Kanbei and Hachi with me into exile. They both came willingly. At the time they were both promising young generals. Kanbei went on to return to yellow Comet and be awarded the position of emperor, my former title, for his services to our country, while Hachi went on to take a more quiet role in Orange Star.

That wasn't enough though. I thought that I had redeemed myself. But my redemption will never be complete. To live with blood on your hands is a terrible thing Sonja, and it never fades. All I can do is fight for my country as well as I can. When Sturm invaded for the second time, my country needed me, so I returned. My only aim in life now is to redeem myself, and perhaps avoid too great a failure in my remaining days"

"Redemption?" Sonja paused to think, "Yes, you are right. I cannot just back away from my mistakes. I must fix them. Sensei, I have to prove my skills to the alliance again"

"I'm sure you will"

"I'm afraid it may be more urgent than that"

"What do you mean Sonja?"

"I have worrying information, but I think it would be prudent not to tell the others yet, at least until I know more"

"What is it?"

"The Black Hole invasion is completely illogical. Looking at the troop numbers reported simultaneously in Yellow Comet, Blue Moon and Green Earth, there is a huge discrepancy in Black Hole's strength. The fleet that was approaching the refuelling depot and the fleet to the north are both far too small. If Black Hole was truly invading with all its strength then both fleets could easily have been three times larger than they were with more than enough troops left to guard each country"

"Is there any reason for Black Hole to disguise its full strength from us?"

"No, we know the rough numbers already, and they have had more than enough time to refuel and complete repairs on most of their units given the unlimited resources at their disposal, being in full control of three territories. The only reason that seems possible is that Black Hole is holding its troops back for a reason"

"Do you have any ideas what the reason might be?"

"No, but it seems as if Black Hole's aim in this invasion was not straight conquest, or else it would have sent all its forces against us as soon as possible. After all, with our losses so heavy and our ability to perform repairs so limited, it is very much in Hawke's interest to attack with all possible speed, before we can restore our forces to their former strength"

"So where are these troops?"

"I can't say for certain, obviously, but I have deployed reconnaissance units into each territory already. One of my units in Green Earth reported an unusually large concentration of forces in a defensive perimeter in a rural area of Green Earth. I have looked over the co-ordinates that the unit gave, but there doesn't seem to be anything worth guarding in the area"

"What does Hawke want?" mused Sensei

"I don't know, but I want to see this area with my own eyes"

"Is this where I come in?"

"Yes, I need your help. I need you to get us both into Green Earth. There is a mountain range near to the area, so if you can get us to these co-ordinates then we should be able to get a good general idea of what's there without being in any danger"

"Of course Sonja, we will leave tomorrow morning. I know where we should be able to refuel quickly and quietly in Yellow Comet, and then we can head on to Green Earth. We should try and arrive by night and observe the situation by morning, before leaving with all due haste. I have only one condition"

"Anything you want, Sensei"

"I believe that it would be sensible to take a squadron of elite mechanised infantry with us, just in case"

"Of course. I have one condition as well"

"And what might that be?" asked Sensei with a laugh

"That father believes we are going to the peaceful southern ports of Orange Star, in case the northern attack is just a diversion from the real invasion"

"Very well. Now, I do believe that, unless you have more to say, our time would be spent profitably supervising the preparations of our units that will be shortly heading into Blue Moon"

Sonja nodded and the pair of them left the room and went to find Kanbei.

The rest of that day was spent in hurried preparations. With the prospect of action and revenge, every CO was keen to join battle with Black Hole. The COs retired long after dusk for a quick meal and then bed.

Except for one CO. While everyone always told her that the men were quite capable of dealing with night-time patrols alone, Sami had always felt that she should be willing to do anything that her troops did.

Sami had tried to sleep, but never could the night before an attack, so she decided to join her infantry that had been given the night shift, whose principle task was to watch for a night airborne assault by Black Hole, while submarines dealt with the possibility of a naval advance under the cover of darkness.

As Sami, holding her standard issue rifle, strolled along a defensive wall not far back from the shore, an Orange Star infantryman ran up to her breathlessly,

"Commander, there's a problem at the airport"

"What's happening soldier?"

"Green Earth troops have seized the airport, and won't let any of us in. We didn't want to fire on our allies, so we left peacefully"

"Don't worry soldier, you acted correctly. Now, you are dismissed from your patrols, go and find the other men who were supposed to guard the airport and tell them to get well back. I'll deal with this personally"

Sami walked to the airport, keeping to the shadows, sensing that she knew what was going on. Sami approached the airport and hid in a thick bush. As she suspected, the Green Earth troops were guarding the main entrances only, clearly visible under the bright electric lights. Sami ran part of the way around the airstrip and entered a small guardhouse in the wall that surrounded the airfield. She strolled casually through and out the other side to the huge expanse of concrete.

As she had believed would be transpiring, a single T-copter was starting to warm up. It was one of Green Earth's. Sami looked on at the distant T-copter and noticed a solitary figure strolling towards it, veiled by darkness. Sami looked painstakingly at the figure and saw what had been expecting, a familiar scarf being blown by the wind. Sami sighed and ran over to the T-copter. While she ran, Eagle looked up at her, but he didn't seem surprised at all and didn't stop walking. Sami passed the T-copter and reached him not far from it. She said simply,

"You're leaving then"

"Yes, I'm sorry it's like this, but I couldn't walk out during the meeting. I couldn't have faced their eyes as I left and I refuse to be called a coward"

"I understand why you would leave this way, but to leave at all is the coward's choice. You should stay and fight besides us

"Don't meddle in my affairs. You don't know what you're talking about"

"I know that if Jess were here then she would be sending the largest force of anybody north"

"Well she isn't here. And that is my fault"

"Eagle…"

"I was always opposed to this damned alliance. Now it would seem that I have been proved correct. I took risks and made sacrifices against my better judgement because I had faith in this league, and that was because Drake and Jess had faith in this league. They were always far too trusting. Now those that believed in this alliance are gone. I gave everything up for the sake of another power, and now it seems that my better judgement was right all along.

This alliance does not need or even want me to fight alongside the others. This alliance was suggested by Orange Star to protect Orange Star territory. Maybe it will help with the liberation later, but self-interest is most definitely at the heart of this alliance. Orange Star does not seek my help, but my strength, my air force, the Green Earth army. Sonja's readiness to sacrifice Drake and Jess proves that to me well enough. We are all pawns in her game against Black Hole, and she would prefer it if we were as silent as the models on her plans. She needs my strength, I am an unfortunate necessity that comes with it"

"Eagle, Sonja isn't like that, she needs your help as well"

"I am just a man, and so I can provide very little to this alliance. Sonja needs my air force, and so she may have it, since I have no need of it anymore. I may have been able to rule the skies slightly better, but Max will command my units just as competently in my absence, since they are all direct combat units"

Eagle didn't wait for a reply, but slid open the door of the T-copter that was waiting to go. As the roar increased, Sami ran up to Eagle and followed him into the back of the T-copter as he entered, heedless of her presence. Sami tried to coax him back to his senses one more time,

"Eagle, what are you going to do without your air force? How will you survive completely alone? Jess and Drake may be gone, but you have to stay strong anyway. To leave now is to rob this alliance of a valuable asset"

"You're correct, an asset, and nothing more, just as we all are"

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know yet"

"Then why are you leaving?"

"I…" Eagle paused for a moment, "Apologise to Sonja on my behalf. Irrespective of the situation, my behaviour towards her was not appropriate. I believe that she is misguided in her leadership, but I cannot blame everything on her. During that attack, I made the decision, not her. I chose my own path, and now I must walk its course, and it seems that the way is a lonely one. I don't know what I will do or what I'm looking for"

"Peace?"

"Partially, but I can't figure it out myself"

"You really cared for them both"

"Of course, they were my companions in all things"

"Eagle, don't go. I know she was dear to you, but you can't do anything"

"Maybe not. Sami, don't say anything else. You won't convince me to stay"

"Very well. Find your peace Eagle, and come back. I'll be waiting"

Eagle didn't reply as Sami got out of the T-copter and walked away. She heard it take off and slowly ascend, before soaring towards the west. She watched it disappear into the black night, and tried to suppress her tears in vain as she left the same way she had entered.


	5. Testing issues

The sun rose and cast the shadow of the HQ across the courtyard, softly casting a warm glow across the gently lapping waves. It was another clear day and, despite the early start, the harbour was heaving with troops and other units either passing through or, in the case of Yellow Comet and Blue Moon, boarding the many landers sitting alongside the crowded quays.

In a quiet corner of a hangar in the main Orange Star airfield, a Yellow Comet T-copter was being towed forwards by a small military jeep. As the hangar doors opened and let in the blinding early morning sunlight, three people walked out of the large hangar alongside the T-copter.

Kanbei walked ahead of the other two and was firmly controlling most of the discussion. He seemed nervous and unable to keep any part of himself still. He continued his tirade of apprehensive guidance,

"Remember Sonja, you must be ever vigilant. Keep yourself surrounded by troops at all times, there is no shame in due caution. Don't be afraid to order a retreat if anything seems to be amiss at all. Caution is a tool of the warrior. If you can, pull back and wait for reinforcements, for I will have returned shortly"

"Father! There is no guarantee that I will meet any troops at all, in fact it is very unlikely! Anyway, Sensei will be there to protect me on your behalf"

"That is true" replied Kanbei, "but I cannot help but worry"

"Then perhaps, father, you might be happier if I joined you in Blue Moon?"

"No! I forbid it! That mission is far too dangerous! Of course, you must proceed with this mission!" exclaimed Kanbei as he hugged his daughter and shook the hand of his former mentor before walking off purposefully.

"I am almost worried by your expertly honed ability to exploit your father" said Sensei.

"I don't know what you are talking about" replied Sonja with a smile.

"Are you certain that we will have the fuel to reach Yellow Comet?"

"Yes, Black Hole can't get here since an invasion force must travel at the speed of the slowest unit or it will arrive in waves, making it vulnerable. Their T-copters can only travel as fast as submarines, and that is a problem we don't have"

Shortly afterwards, a pilot and the mechanised infantry, all chosen by Sensei personally, arrived and boarded the T-copter. Sonja and Sensei followed them and the T-copter took off without delay, heading west towards Yellow Comet.

The journey was long and uneventful, since the T-copter had to fly the long way around Blue Moon over the sea in case they attracted unwanted attention by flying straight over it. Sonja filled the long journey with a pen and notepad she had brought, noting down various strategies that entered her head and sketching maps of Orange Star terrain to be ready in case of an invasion. She also tired to come up with viable reasons for Black Hole keeping back the majority of its strength, although she couldn't come up with anything that she was able to believe in beyond doubt. Sonja looked up at Sensei as they approached Yellow Comet territory. The last time she had looked up from her notes, he had been staring at the sea. He still was. Sonja beamed,

"How do you watch the sea for so long Sensei? I've watched you doing that before"

"When you get to my stage in life, Sonja, you start to become more appreciative of everything"

"Of course. Sensei, where are we going to refuel? Won't the procedure surely be very dangerous to attempt against such a great force?"

"Different COs deal with potential danger in different ways. After the second Black Hole invasion, everyone knew that Hawke would return sooner or later, but each CO reacted to the threat differently. Eagle strengthened his air force immeasurably, a perfectly acceptable course of action, but I prepared for it in a different way. I founded a full underground resistance movement that would be ready to help our cause in the event of being forced to evacuate. I set up various covert bases where our returning forces, having come to liberate Yellow Comet, would have access to fuel, supplies and shelter from the enemy, giving us an unexpected advantage over them. One of these safe havens is on the very southern tip of Yellow Comet. We should be able to avoid being noticed on radar if we fly low, and we will be safe if we can reach our destination. Just in case, we will only depart again once night has fallen to avoid being noticed at all"

"Where is this destination?"

"It is built into a seaside cave, completely impossible to locate if you don't know where it is already"

"Most clever, Sensei, I would expect no less from you"

The T-copter, not far above the thrashing waves, flew over the shallows of Yellow Comet's coast, passing above the picturesque sandy shorelines where Sensei had beaten off Adder in the second invasion, and slowly edged into a dark and narrow cave. Sonja, concerned for her safety, was about to ask if Sensei was sure he was in the right place when the T-copter veered left into a huge and largely empty hangar.

Sonja went wide-eyed as she looked around. She had great faith in Sensei, obviously, but she had never expected anything like this. The hangar was entirely metallic except for the concrete floor. The far wall was lined with untouched tanks and anti air units and brand new artillery. Some way away, squadrons of elite infantry were marching in formation. The T-copter was waved into a landing spot by a Yellow Comet infantryman and the T-copter landed smoothly as a group of high-ranking individuals walked over to the T-copter, their status clear from their more elaborate dress. Sensei smiled at the stunned Sonja,

"Well what were you expecting? An oil can in a candlelit hole?"

"No, but this must have taken years to set up!"

"It did. Most of them aren't as fully fitted out as this one. It appeared to me that the simple fact is if we were forced to evacuate then we would have to transport all our forces, only to try and move them back later. It seemed a much better idea to allow them to stay, to give us a good standing force ready for our return, to ensure we maintain a foothold in any circumstances, to allow a strong resistance to continue, to give any rebels a safe haven and just to keep Black Hole on their toes"

"But, where did all these units come from?"

"They all missed the boat, quite literally, during the evacuation, and came to these places instead. There are several other exits from this bunker into the countryside, all as well hidden as the beach access, although we admittedly can't launch an air war from here, which is unfortunate, since it's tricky enough to get even T-copters in here"

"This is incredible"

"Come and have something to eat Sonja. My men will have our T-copter refuelled soon. We should stay here for now and depart again some time after dusk to get to the co-ordinates shortly before dawn"

Sonja and Sensei tried as hard as possible to relax in their brief break, but both were far more concerned about the fate of Kanbei and the defence of the north, both of which should have reached a conclusion by that point. If they had drawn to a close unsuccessfully then the whole war could be on their shoulders, but both knew that no good would come of dwelling on such thoughts.

They departed in the same T-copter that they had arrived in and disappeared into the darkness of the western air, speeding over the still black waters as the stars appeared in the dark sky. The T-copter appeared over the Green Earth nation without any announcement. It passed over the rural areas with a dull roar, which escaped notice as the darkness barred anyone from realising that the T-copter above wasn't one of Black Hole's own.

As a dull light began to appear in the east, Sensei ordered the T-copter to land in the dried up basin of a mountain river. He told the men to stay in the T-copter and keep it ready to take off at a moment's notice. He and Sonja proceeded to scale the gently sloped rock face in front of them and reached the flat peak of the mountains. On Sensei's instruction, they both lay down and crawled forwards towards the edge to remove any chance of being seen.

As the sun began to light up the ground below, Sonja and Sensei both looked down into the deep and wide valley and were utterly taken aback by the bewildering sight, beyond anything they could have ever predicted.

Sonja struggled to deal with the task of trying take in everything she saw at once. The most obvious thing was the colossal crater in the Green Earth countryside. The hole was huge and Sonja could see that the sides were surprisingly steep, but a high defensive wall was preventing her from establishing what was at the bottom of the pit. It looked as if Black Hole was setting up a quarry to mine something. Sonja looked over at Sensei, who stared back with a mystified look on his face,

"Sonja, what is this? It looks like a quarry, but what material could Black Hole possibly want from this area? Don't they have enough of anything they might happen to need already?"

"That makes no sense. I researched the local area before we set off. There are reserves of coal in this region which Green Earth never extracted because the area was so agriculturally important, but Black Hole can't just want the coal"

"All armies, however powerful, need fuel to run the homes of their men"

"If they were after coal then they would be at the established coal mines in the north of Green Earth. To do this is more trouble than any coal supplies are worth"

"Then they must be after something else"

"Indeed, just look at the security"

Sonja was correct. The defences around the area were overwhelmingly strong. The pit itself was surrounded by large stone buildings and large amount of mining equipment. A full rail system had been built from scratch on the far side of the quarry to take away the immense amount of earth that was being torn up.

She could see tanks, tiny specks next to the gaping hole in the ground, circling in vast numbers. Artillery sat outside every building in large groups. The valley base was full of medium tanks either way from the quarry. Sonja guessed that there must have been hundreds of units in the area.

No land unit would stand a chance of penetrating the defences. The only chance was an air strike appearing over the mountains, but there were more than enough anti aircraft weapons to deal with that as well. As Sonja noticed, there were innumerable static anti air emplacements set onto defensive walls.

Sensei turned to the girl,

"Given the remarkable concentration of units here, it may be that this is the Black Hole citadel, or Hawke's personal base of operations"

"No, the Black Hole citadel wouldn't be in our territory in case we stumbled across it. And it's too heavily guarded to be Hawke's base. If this were Hawke's headquarters then it would be hidden and smaller, so that he could avoid attention and evacuate more easily"

"Then what is this place?"

"The strength of the forces here can only mean that Hawke is guarding something, and he doesn't want us to know what it is, or dare to move against it if we were to find it, the reason for all these troops"

"Whatever it is, he has committed far more troops to its safety than to the Orange Star invasion"

"This must have been Hawke's real objective. But what is he protecting? It must have something to do with that quarry. Wait a minute…"

Sonja paused as she looked down at the buildings. A puzzled look appeared on her face. She pulled a pair of powerful binoculars which she had brought with her to her eyes and stared intently at the structures around the pit,

"Sensei, look between the buildings. What are those towers for?"

"They are guard towers, I should imagine, for infantry to watch for intruders from"

"That makes no sense. Why would infantry be acting as sentries when the entire complex is surrounded by impassable hordes of troops and permanently circled by tanks?"

Sonja paused for a moment. She glared fixedly at the sky, before bringing the binoculars back to her eyes and looking over the towers again. She suddenly spun round,

"Sensei! Look at the base of the towers!" she exclaimed as she handed the binoculars to him. He took them and acted as requested.

The towers, not particularly tall, with strange grooves running up the sides and odd bulges at the top of each, were constructed of black stone, neatly fitted together with no noticeable gaps.

However, the bottom of each tower was utterly unlike the rest. A thin sliver of white stone was just visible at the bottom. The stone was clumsily put together, and was showing its age through decay and moss, but it was still brilliantly white. Sonja turned back to Sensei,

"Yes, I remember reading about this, but I gave it no thought at the time. There are ruins in this area, which Green Earth scientists attributed to previous settlers in this area, predating the Green Earth civilisation"

"A nice fact to know Sonja, but what use does it have?"

"Look at the stones Sensei! They are so splendidly and intensely white! They seem to be sparkling in the sunlight!"

"Please Sonja, what are you mulling over, what significance does all this have?"

"I will tell you in a moment, but for now it seems as if we will not learn anything new here. We should depart before anyone sees us"

"Of course"

The two COs climbed back down the rock face and boarded the T-copter, which took off briskly and fled from Green Earth without event. Sensei ordered the pilot to head back to the southern haven to refuel again before heading home. Sonja spent the first part of the journey sketching the troop formations she had seen while they were fresh in her memory. An attack on them was physically impossible, but it never hurt to be prepared. After some time, Sonja looked up at Sensei,

"How much do you know about White Sun?"

"That it's a myth. It supposedly was a nation that ruled the world with benevolence and courage, overcoming the forces of darkness. The capital city was constructed of white stone that sparkled in the sunlight, a symbol of hope visible throughout the world. People used to believe that it really existed, but the fact that the capital city was never found, along with any other concrete evidence, convinced most that the whole story was a children's tale, or at least hugely exaggerated"

"What about the rocks at the very base of the towers?"

"Sonja, it is not impossible that there was a White Sun people, and those ruins might have belonged to them, but that proves nothing. Anyway, even if it isn't a coincidence then how exactly are you going to find out anything for certain. How will you discover what those rocks meant? This is all speculation"

"That is why we have to return to the Yellow Comet capital city, as soon as we've refuelled"

"You want to return to Yellow Comet? That is very dangerous. I know that you may be onto something, but don't play with all our lives because of a feeling"

"Master Sensei, that is why you are here. If anyone is capable of flying a T-copter over a fully occupied city and then getting two COs and a squadron of mechanised infantry onto the ground without suspicion, then it is you"

"Where do you need to go?"

"The archives of the Yellow Comet library. They contain the only remaining transcripts of the White Sun Scrolls, themselves the only solid proof of White Sun's existence. They might be able to suggest why Hawke would be mining around White Sun ruins instead of invading with all his strength"

"You are aware that the White Sun Scrolls have never been authenticated. Their legitimacy has been questioned for years"

"Maybe so, but we have to try and find out what is in Hawke's mind. If we can't take him on a full battle, then knowing what he wants might give us an advantage that he clearly wants to keep hidden from us. There are risks, but I believe that the potential advantage is invaluable"

"In that case we need not refuel. We will proceed there immediately"

"Of course Sensei, if you wish"

Some hours later, the T-copter dived from side to side through the skies over the heavily urbanised Yellow Comet capital city. The T-copter flew exceedingly low, diving between tall buildings, desperately trying to avoid the fire of the B-copters that had been hunting them for some time. Some fire was coming from the streets as well, but it was quite inconsequential, rarely hitting the mark. The T-copter was however suffering increasing levels of damage. As the crippled craft turned harshly into the area over a large road and several tanks fired futilely into the air, Sensei yelled back to his men,

"Get your parachutes on, you as well pilot"

"What should I do, Master Sensei?"

"Don't worry Sonja, I'll take care of you. Now, if we go in the front door," Sensei paused as the T-copter plunged down and left, before pulling back up as the sound of bullets ricocheting off the road sounded far too close, "then we'll be spotted. We'll have to go in the back way to avoid any attention. Pilot, bring us very low over the building at the end of the street, then fasten the control stick somehow. Now, if you release your parachutes too early, you'll be spotted and we're all dead. As soon as we are below the height of the roof, pull the cord. As soon as you touch down, get into cover immediately; we don't know what we're up against"

"How will we get home?"

"We'll deal with that later. Now, Sonja, hold onto me very tightly and don't let go under any circumstances"

"Are you certain that this is safe?"

"I did it every day of the week back in the old days"

"How long has it been since you've done this personally?"

"Isn't that odd, I can't remember. Now, get ready… Jump!"

The aged CO Sensei, Sonja, the infantry and the pilot all jumped and fell like stones. As they disappeared from view behind the top of the buildings, there was a flurry of noise and the sudden appearance of seven yellow parachutes. Sonja wasn't expecting the jerk as the parachute burst open and choked from the shock. She looked up through a gap between the parachutes and saw the B-copters tear apart the crippled T-copter before pulling up and returning the way they had come. Sonja heard Sensei laugh as they sped just a little too fast towards the ground,

"I do believe they just saw what I wanted them to see. A lone evacuation T-copter, trying to flee, has been destroyed. And now everyone should go home with the enemy defeated"

"Master Sensei! We're falling too fast!"

"No, this is about right from my experience"

"Please, slow down!"

"I would do so quite gladly if you would provide me with a method by which I might do that"

Sonja shrieked as the group hit the ground. Sonja, buried under a covering of yellow cloth, thrashed around helplessly as she heard men moving around her, yelling at each other in an organised way and breaking something down in what could well have been a quite efficient manner. As the rustling around stopped and Sonja remained trapped in her yellow prison, she, burning with embarrassment, decided to stay completely still and pretend that she was not there. Sensei lifted the parachute with humiliating ease and calmly said,

"Your first time perchance?"

"Maybe" replied Sonja sullenly

The men had already broken down the back door and rushed inside to secure the area. As the pilot guarded the door, Sensei followed the other men calmly and Sonja trailed behind nervously. She had always told her father that he was too bothered by her being in battles, as she stayed fairly far back for her safety. This, however, was far too close to the enemy. This was one of those things that her father did constantly, whether or not it was necessary. She always used to think him foolish for doing this sort of thing. Now she considered him insane. The COs were in a long and dimly lit corridor with several other corridors leading off it in both directions.

Sensei suddenly froze and put his arm out, stopping Sonja as well. The men were just ahead, all pressed against a wall just before a corner. Sonja listened carefully and heard the synchronised footsteps of a marching infantry unit. Sensei turned to her slowly and whispered barely audibly,

"Stay perfectly still"

He crept forwards without waiting for a response and came to a halt in front of the men. They turned to face him, as he gave two hand signals that Sonja couldn't make out. Two of the men silently walked back the way they had come and paced down the corridor to the right and out of view. Sonja didn't dare to move. After an unbearable pause in which it seemed like the footsteps were getting closer, Sensei gently knocked his hand against the wall. Sonja didn't have time to try and determine what it meant exactly, as the men flung themselves out from the cover of the wall and sent a burst of automatic fire down the corridor. The flash lit up the corridor and the noise compelled Sonja to fall to the ground and curl up. Within a blink of an eye, they had done this and in just as short a time they ducked back into cover. Sonja blinked and fell backwards, sprawled on the floor now, as the Black Hole troops returned fire and bullets smashed into the wall opposite, as noise and light and flying dust all came together to bring Sonja to hide her head in her hands.

Suddenly, the clamour increased even more as a new set of guns began firing. Sonja realised that the Yellow Comet troops had caught the Black Hole infantry in an ambush.

It was perfect tactical planning, the sort of thing that Sonja dreamed of executing, but that was little consolation now. Five Black Hole units in an ambush was an excellent thing for plans and maps and troop numbers, but this was different. Whenever Sonja arranged this very thing from her study, it was far away and she was disconnected from it. This wasn't what she wanted to see, or what she wanted to orchestrate either. There was noise, chaos, screaming, blood, death. All those nights in her study pushing around her little models, this carnage, this waste of human life, was what she had been obsessively planning for.

The noise stopped. Sonja didn't remove her head from her hands. Sensei walked over to her,

"Sonja, it's all over. The enemy are gone"

"You mean dead"

"Yes"

"Are our men fine?"

"There is one casualty. He is fatally wounded"

"I want to see him"

"Sonja, it is not pleasant. I strongly urge you to let me take care of him"

"Whose idea was it to come here?"

"This is your enterprise"

"Then that man has died because of my recklessness. I must confront what I have done. You told me to do that"

"Sonja, I also told you that if no mission was ever undertaken where a man might be killed then you would never undertake any mission at all"

"I have to see him. I have to be able to look upon the real cost of war"

"That is your choice. I won't stop you"

Sonja stood up with help and tentatively walked down the corridor which the men had walked round, passing the single returning soldier, his face completely plain, showing no emotion except for the slightest hint of a grimace. Sonja reached the corner and put her hand on it. She heard a faint noise from around the corner. Closing her eyes, she inched around the corner and stood perfectly still, not able to open her eyes.

She felt sick as she heard the man at her feet. He was making a fast wheezing noise that sounded far too shallow. As the noise became unbearable, she opened her eyes. Her mouth dropped as she saw the man. He lay across the polished marble floor with his limbs hanging limply at his side. His rifle, however, was still gripped firmly in his hand. His unblinking wide eyes stared madly at the ceiling, seemingly unaware of her. His chest was bleeding heavily. He had been shot several times, and his blood-soaked uniform slowly allowed his precious blood to drain away onto the floor.

Sonja could bear it no more. She sprinted back to Sensei and began,

"He's still alive, we have to do something! He can be saved!"

"He has been shot through the lungs. There is nothing we can do"

"We have to take him with us! He's not dead!"

"He will not recover from that injury. He will be dead within twenty minutes"

"We have to do something for him!"

"We have nothing with us to stop his pain, and any first aid would only extend his suffering for a few minutes"

Sonja fell to the floor again and quietly murmured,

"I can't do this anymore. I can't do that to my own men"

"We COs don't have the luxury of that choice. I more than anyone want nothing more than peace on my old age, but that is not an option. Black Hole has invaded us, and we must fight back or die. If you retire from your duties as a CO because you fear having blood on your hands, then you have done far greater harm through the losses we will incur without your tactical expertise. You have a gift. You can use it to save as many lives as possible or you can neglect it and sacrifice many more lives, fearing lest you fail"

"How many men have I done that to? How many have died?"

"Black Hole invaded us. We can fight back or our whole people will be cut down by the aggressors. We can fight or die. There is no other choice"

"We… you are right, as always, Master Sensei. We must proceed"

Sonja got up with a new determination in her eyes and looked around her. She decided that the quickest route to the archives would be down a corridor to the left. She walked ahead of the men confidently. As she reached forwards to a doorway to the main foyer of the city archives, Sensei reached forwards and held her shoulder, as he signalled the four remaining armed men to go ahead. The men burst through the door and spread out through the hallway. Sonja followed them with forced calmness and proceeded to an elaborate large double door.

Sonja then pushed the large door wide open. She entered a huge room swathed in darkness. The ceiling was only just noticeable, a large dome that stretched up into the blackness. The room was elaborately decorated, with delicate patterns adorning the whole wall around the vast circular room. The expanse of the marble floor was filled with rows of metal filing cabinets that faded away into the distant murkiness of the immense room.

Sonja walked confidently to the left of the room looking for a specific filing cabinet. In peaceful times she had spent many happy moments here, even when she was very young. She had always possessed a curiously impressive thirst for knowledge. She would wander through the inexhaustible ocean of paper and data, perusing whatever took her fancy on rainy afternoons.

She turned down one of the corridors of metal cabinets and strolled briskly alongside the eventual destination of all wisdom in Yellow Comet. She stopped abruptly and pulled out one of the metal drawers. She began flicking through the papers. As her face slowly changed from a smile to a frown, she reached the end of the documents. She flicked through all the papers that were there again and looked up at Sensei,

"They're not here. The White Sun Scrolls aren't here. The Merchant Scripts and records of tablet fragments are all where they ought to be, but everything about White Sun is gone"

"Then this is more than coincidence. Black Hole has already been here, and they specifically took those papers. They must be interested in White Sun as well. Sonja, it would seem that you were correct, but we must not leave empty handed. Are there any other copies?"

"Yes, but there's a problem"

"What is it?"

"Black Hole have taken all the translations that have ever been completed, as well as the notes that were written at the same time. The original transcripts of the White Sun Scrolls should still be here, but they'll be in White Sun Script, not English"

"Will they be any use at all?"

"I might be able to decipher some of it"

"You can read White Sun Script?"

"It fascinated me when I was young, so I taught myself some Sun Script to a competent level, but nobody ever compiled a dictionary or anything like that. The only help was those notes. Without them, I don't know how much use the transcripts will be"

"Take them anyway"

Sonja strolled slightly further down the dim room and pulled open another draw on the bottom shelf. She removed a red file and opened it briefly. Inside were old papers, delicate and growing fainter with age. Elegantly written and entrancingly detailed symbols covered the papers. She snapped the file shut,

"I can't work on this here. Anyway, I might still have some notes I made when I was learning Sun Script back in the old files I brought with me to Orange Star"

"We should go anyway. I cannot guarantee that that infantry unit won't be missed, so we should leave immediately"

"How exactly will we get home?"

"You remember how I told you I set up safe havens in Yellow Comet?"

"Yes, of course"

"Well, I also set up some depots containing military equipment, for situations such as this. We can access one of them through the sewer systems. There is a T-copter in the nearest one. We can escape as soon as night falls" said Sensei, already pacing quickly back towards the door.

The two COs and four infantry returned the way they had come with the file retrieved. They rejoined the pilot and climbed down into the sewer. Sensei led them confidently to one of his depots, which contained a fully fuelled T-copter. As the sun set on the second day since they left Orange Star, the COs of Yellow Comet escaped in a T-copter that was concealed in a well hidden alcove in a sewage treatment facility and flew east with a new and mysterious hope for the alliance.


	6. Deliverance

The sun rose and cast the shadow of the HQ across the courtyard, softly casting a warm glow across the gently lapping waves. In a peaceful corner of a quiet airstrip, 3 COs walked alongside a Yellow Comet T-copter. As Kanbei remembered the situation, leading the other two was a daring and powerful CO, Kanbei himself, confidence and might etched into his very face, who was talking calmly and rationally to his excessively impulsive and reckless daughter. The brash girl, far too young to be present in battles, obviously, walked close behind him and pleaded,

"Father! I demand to join you in Blue Moon! I could help command the tanks on the front lines! They can't be that difficult to drive!"

"Sonja, please reconsider" said the father reasonably and rationally, "It would be unwise to be present in Blue Moon when your abilities are needed in the south"

"Very well" replied the girl with a sigh, "I will go with Sensei"

Kanbei hugged her and walked off purposefully. As he left them behind he heard Sensei mutter something to Sonja, but he couldn't hear what it was exactly. Kanbei sometimes felt regretful that he had to leave his daughter behind, away from the front, but it was sometimes necessary to protect her from her own hasty self. At least he knew that he could still prevent her from taking thoughtless risks, and that he could, in spite of everything, command her to see sense when it mattered. Anyway, Sensei would make sure that she did nothing rash.

Kanbei walked along the pathway by the shore to the port where the Yellow Comet forces were being loaded into their landers. Another force at the airfield was already prepared to depart within minutes of the order being given. Kanbei passed the port on his right and turned into a small building on his left. The building was in fact a single room, lit by the sun, containing only a large transmission device, several Orange Star communication experts and Colin, who was wearing, as ever, his blue formal military regalia, spotless, without a crease, and polished shoes, with a straight posture evident. Kanbei turned to the boy,

"Good morning, young Colin! I give you my heartfelt greeting! Now, how go the attempts to contact Grit and Olaf?"

"Nothing yet sir! Commander Grit and Commander Olaf either do not have access to a transmitter, or they are working on a local frequency"

"We must contact them! It is not the way of the samurai to enter a battlefield without knowing where one's friends and enemies are!"

"Sir! As we approach Blue Moon, the chances of them picking up our signals will increase greatly. Further delays are not advantageous"

"Then we must depart immediately! Be prepared my allies, for today our enemy will taste steel! Nothing can stand against the will of the samurai!"

"Yes sir! Soldier," said Colin, turning to an infantryman standing by the door, "get to the airfield and tell all aircraft to prepare to take off"

As the soldier ran to the airport, Colin looked around and noticed that Kanbei was somewhat absent. Walking to the door, Colin looked around, and spotted Kanbei some way in the distance, already in the port. He leapt onto the walkway of one of the landers and, turning to the sea, drew his sword with an expert ease. As the sun glinted off the polished metal, he swung it rapidly and held it effortlessly, pointing towards Blue Moon.

A cheer rose from the Yellow Comet troops as the final tanks charged into their landers, which immediately began pulling away. Colin snapped out of his admiration for Kanbei, who seemed capable of those rousing gestures that Grit did sometimes but that Colin had never really understood, as he realised that when Kanbei decided to depart immediately, he meant it quite literally. It was quite possible that it was not the way of the samurai to double-check that you had everything before setting off. Colin assumed that tasks such as shopping were left to someone else in Yellow Comet.

He ran down to the port to his confused men and yelled up to the captain of one of the landers,

"Yes, I think we should go as well. You set off and try get the others to follow you. Oh, hang on a second…" Colin, deciding that it was time to try out these motivational skills that Grit had been keen to impart to him, threw his arm out towards Blue Moon, or at least roughly in the correct direction, and yelled, although not too loud in case it caused offence,

"Onwards!"

He held the pose for a moment in case anybody wanted to cheer, but realising that nobody had seen the gesture, and actually being quite relieved that this was the case, he lowered his arm, blushing, and moved on quickly. As he was about to board one of the Blue Moon landers, he heard Kanbei's booming voice from the remaining Yellow Comet lander,

"Come, young Colin, ride to Blue Moon on my ship, since we have much to discuss!"

"Yes sir!" he replied to the samurai as he tried to subtlety wave at his own lander to depart without him. Colin marched onto the walkway of Kanbei's lander. He had barely boarded the ship when Kanbei cried,

"Onwards!"

The ship began to move and accelerated exceedingly quickly as several more men cheered Kanbei. Colin felt a hint of frustration; what was Kanbei doing to motivate his men that he wasn't? He put this aside for a moment and walked forwards to Kanbei, who was on the deck of the lander, with his head up, faintly smiling. Colin approached the imposing man,

"Sir, how do you intend to fight this battle? We don't know what we will be up against"

"Then we shall crush all that is before us! No enemy can stand up against our strength! Stealth is the way of the samurai! We shall attack without warning, push back all that dare to oppose us, remove our allies from the battlefield and disappear!"

"Sir, without Commander Grit and Commander Olaf's location, we will not be able to do this as fast as we might like. Anyway, if Blue Moon troops are trying to retreat then they will be torn apart trying to fall back without cover"

"We have the troops to push the enemy back, and they will fall back before my sword!" another cheer rose from somewhere, much to Colin's infuriation, "I am certain that Grit and Olaf will have the wit to realise what we are doing! All we need do is push back our foe and this will give our allies the time they need to escape!"

"Sir, this is exceedingly risky without detailed knowledge of what we are facing. You might be surrounded, or…"

"It is not the way of the samurai to worry about what might happen!"

Colin sighed, feeling mildly exasperated by the constant references to the way of the samurai, although also wondering what it took to become one,

"Sir, I feel it would be wise for me to organise the evacuation vessels, given how your units are the strongest, if you agree to that anyway"

"It is not a concern Colin! Their numbers mean nothing, as nothing can stand before the will of the samurai!"

"Yes sir! I think I might make a cup of tea, do you want one?"

"It is the way of the samurai to have milk and one sugar!"

Colin walked away without saying anything.

Some time later, not much after midday, as the force came close to Blue Moon with no contact with Grit or Olaf, Colin stood alone on the deck looking out at the forces that surrounded him. The majority were Yellow Comet troops, and these were composed of the strongest units available; bombers were flanked by squadrons of fighters, and the landers contained medium tanks and anti air units, although there were no mechanised infantry, as they had no intention of capturing anything, as they had no intention of staying.

The force was not huge, as often happened when Kanbei commanded, but each unit was remarkably well trained. Kanbei's units were superior to anybody's tactically, capable of keeping to cover with outstanding efficiency, the reason for their superior defensive abilities. They were also fitted with exceptionally strong armour and the most powerful cannons possible, despite the cost. It was also impossible to discount the extraordinary ability of Kanbei to command; he was audacious and his troops were recognised for their relentlessly high morale.

The Blue Moon force was far smaller, as they had suffered such great losses before the evacuation and, without Grit and Olaf's guidance, had not rebuilt as effectively as the other armies. There was however a navy, which had escaped reasonably unharmed from Blue Moon, at least compared to the other units. Colin had a naval taskforce of battleships, as well as a few bombers and fighter squadrons. His landers contained a mixture of units, some still damaged, and he had been forced to leave some units in Orange Star since they were too damaged for use in the battle.

Colin was disturbed from his thoughts by Kanbei,

"Young Colin! We are within striking distance of the enemy! It is time to send in our forces!"

"Yes sir! What shall we do first?"

"Like the cowards they are, Black Hole has drawn up its units on the beaches, trying to destroy us before we can disembark! We shall let them taste fire for their weakness, and crush them like the parasites they are!"

"Yes sir! Do you mean you want to send in bombers?"

"Of course, young Colin! The order for the attack has already been given, and soon we shall meet our foe on the ground and drive him back!"

Colin looked out as every available air unit accelerated to attack speed and sped towards the beaches either side of the harbour's entrance, and to the quays of the harbour itself, where more enemies waited. Colin could faintly see in the distance that the attack had worked, as the bombers wiped out the resistance on the beach, before pushing on. Kanbei gave the order for the landers to enter the harbour before exclaiming,

"Ah, young Colin! Black Hole will rue the day that it made an enemy of a samurai!"

"Sir, something isn't right, why wouldn't tanks retreat when faced with bombers? Something is definitely wrong here…"

"It is the way of the samurai to punish the mistakes of his enemy, not give him time to recover from them! We must push on now while we have the advantage!"

Colin nodded. If an experienced CO thought like this then it must be correct, but Colin couldn't help but think that Grit might not have agreed. Colin didn't have long to ponder this as the landers hurtled into the port and threw open the doors, pouring forth Yellow Comet's medium tanks, which charged forwards into the town, or Blue Moon tanks and reconnaissance units, which formed a cautious defensive perimeter around the port.

As Colin saw Kanbei leap into an APC and depart towards the sound of cannon fire, Colin himself began work on preparing the fleet. He ordered his troops to get to the boat sheds and launch any seaworthy vessel they could find, before drawing them up onto the shallows of the harbour, ready for a swift retreat. He also ordered the men to start trying to get Grit and Olaf on the radio. Colin knew that they had to be in this port; it was the only site left with any serious resistance.

As the sound of the battle became more distant and the bombers flew back over Colin's head and out to sea, their work being done since they couldn't bomb the frontlines when Yellow Comet troops were so close by, Colin heard Grit's voice come over the transmitter for a moment. Running over to the large device, set up on the waterfront on a concrete path, he seized the receiver and heard Grit's voice through interference again,

"I repeat, this is Commander Grit of the Blue Moon alliance, if anybody can hear this, kindly reply"

"Commander Grit! You're alive! Thank goodness!"

"Colin! What's going on?"

"Commander Kanbei and myself are here with an evacuation force for you and any survivors, come to the port if you can"

"Colin, get Kanbei and leave now!"

"Commander Grit, what do you mean?"

"It's an ambush! There are indirect fire units all around the city, and they've just started moving towards us! We don't know how many units are in the city, but you won't go beating Black Hole in any straight fight, do you hear me?"

"Sir, where are you?"

"At the north of the city, just inside the gates"

"Sir, how many of our units are left?"

"Quite a few, and…" Grit paused as a gun shot came over the radio, "and Olaf's here as well. Get Kanbei to pull back immediately!"

"Sir, I can't, he's on the frontlines"

"Colin, whatever happens, you've got to save the navy and airforce of both the armies. Whatever happens, get clear with those"

"I can't leave you both here again!"

"Colin, we can see Kanbei's troops now. I'll get to him to tell him what's happening. You just be ready to go"

So, thought Colin, Black Hole will shortly begin bombarding the port with rockets. He realised that time was very short. Colin looked up at the distant battle. He could see the back of the Yellow Comet units. He smiled as he saw the majority turn around and charge back towards him and the empty ships around him as confidently as they had charged forwards. Grit had worked fast, and, as always, had turned the course of battle in their favour. Large losses had been inflicted on Black Hole and they had not put up much of a struggle. It seemed as if they had not been ready for Kanbei's strength.

Then Colin felt cold and sick as the events unfolded in front in him. Just as he could have sworn that he saw Olaf and Grit peering out of an APC as fire bounced harmlessly off the back of the Yellow Comet units, fate snatched them away from him again. From the large road that crossed the street that they were on, Black Hole units, medium tanks, artillery and anti air units, surged onto the street in overwhelming numbers. They filled the street with seemingly endless waves of troops. There was a moment of terrible silence as the two forces stopped and faced each other in some sort of awful confrontation as even the units behind the Yellow Comet forces ceased fire.

Whether it was the way of the samurai or Grit's expert opinion, Colin didn't know, but it was their side that made the first move. As Grit's artillery fired on the lines, and as Kanbei's medium tanks charged forwards, firing at point-blank range on the impenetrable lines, Grit's voice came loudly over the radio again,

"Colin, I need you to get out of here now!"

"Commander Grit, I do believe that Kanbei can break through the lines with your support. You should break through shortly"

"We don't have that luxury of time, Colin, those rockets will be firing on us any minute. We'll be fine, Colin, you get yourself out of here. You've got to get clear with the air force. There's nothing any of the units can do. If you throw the air force against those lines, it'll get torn apart by the anti air units"

"Commander Grit, I can't leave you behind again, and I won't let this attack come to nothing"

"Colin, take any units you can and leave, and that's an order!"

Colin calmly replaced the receiver without replying, as said to the officer nearby,

"If he calls back, tell him that I'm busy"

Colin then flicked a small switch, which made the transmitter send out his words over every frequency,

"All units, this is Commander Colin, prepared to throw everything we have at the Black Hole lines. All battleships, fire at the centre of the lines, if you're in visual range, aim at anti aircraft weaponry. All bombers, form up for an attack run on the lines, drop your payload only on the middle of the lines. All other units, fire at will. Your objective is not to destroy the lines, just break a hole through the middle and divide the forces. Kanbei, get your troops out of there, we're ready to go!"

As Colin spoke, the roar of the battle increased as the fire became synchronised. Battleships pounded the lines, bombers battered the failing ranks, Kanbei's tanks and Grit's infantry continued to rain fire on the smashed positions. As the lines began to fall away to either side, Kanbei led the charge through as bombs and shells exploded around him, leading the retreating forces through the hail of pellets and blasts.

Colin ran onto one of the landers, scanning the crowds of units desperately crowding around the entrances to the evacuation crafts. He finally caught sight of Grit and Olaf in a scorched and badly damaged APC. He waved them into his lander, before ordering the immediate retreat of all units. The bombers and fighters fled over the sea as the landers left as they were ready. Kanbei himself, now on foot, sword in hand, covered in the dirt and filth of battle, ran into Colin's lander as it prepared to depart, along with the final few.

Colin looked back from his lander as the scattered and crippled lines of Black Hole tried to reform and rolled down to the seafront, firing powerless shots at the retreating landers, which bounced off the sturdy armour that Andy had added to many vessels.

As the landers and battleships moved out of the harbour and into the safety of the open ocean, Colin watched as the promised artillery strike on the port began with devastating strength. High-powered shells rose up into the skies and fell back down on the town with dreadful force, tearing apart the town, destroying buildings completely. The Black Hole army, caught in the ambush which the COs were clear of, broke formation and fled in chaos and disarray. None of them stood a chance, as Black Hole's gamble wiped out its own units and Colin fled in safety.

Colin turned back to the lander's deck as Kanbei emerged from the lower levels, along with Olaf and Grit. Colin ran forwards and flung himself at the two Blue Moon COs without a word. Both looked somewhat ragged from their experiences in a beleaguered country. Grit's coat was tattered and his hair was unkempt and too long. Olaf's beard, eyebrows and hair had all joined together into a single entity that covered most of his face and was equally grubby in general.

As Kanbei sheathed his sword, he said to the three men, embracing each other,

"I believe that congratulations are necessary!"

"Yes," replied Colin, "we all owe great gratitude to Commander Olaf and Commander Grit for their outstanding resistance and remarkable tactical prowess"

"I do believe" said Grit with a smile, "that the victory today happens to belong to you, Colin. I'm proud of you"

As the four men, safe and heading home, advanced towards Orange Star, the burning rubble of the Blue Moon port faded away back into the distance.


	7. A Lonely Path

Eagle walked down a corridor that was far too familiar to him, although he didn't realise it. He had no control over his actions, but he felt that there was no problem with this. Unaware of his legs moving, he moved along like a ghost in the silent passageway. The corridor was grey. There was no light or shadow to speak of, just a dull omnipresent gloom that pervaded everything. As he moved, the corridor began to slowly close in, as the walls moved together and the ceiling sank. Despite the increasingly tight space, Eagle was not scared, as he never was at that point. Then the corridor, retaining its present size, was suddenly lit up by a roaring fire that made no noise in front of Eagle. He could feel its warmth, and the flickering light cast a magnificent red colour across the walls around him.

Eagle continued to move forwards, desperate to touch the source of the light, but unable to move faster than he was. The fire seemed to be retreating as fast as he could move, always out of reach. It finally stopped and Eagle approached it. The heat was intense and the flickering blaze made him recoil but then push on with more resolve, illogically desperate to move ever forwards.

Eagle uncertainly put forwards his right hand, towards the flames. His hand touched it for one brief second, before the fire around his hand disappeared into the air without warning, and the rest of the fire disappeared around it, leaving only grey.

Eagle stood perfectly still, unable to move. He breathed quickly as he started to sink into the grey floor. He was cold and alone and he couldn't move his legs as they sank into the grey body below him. He suddenly felt an immense fear, and flailed his arms impotently. As he tried to push back against the floor, his arms sank into the irresistible pull of the grey mass. He tried to scream but no noise came out. Silent except for his frantic breathing, gasping for air, he sank under the grey. He couldn't see, couldn't breath, couldn't move. As his chest felt tight, screaming at him for air, he choked into the foul greyness that encircled him and felt a blast of pain run through him as the gloom tore through his body.

Eagle, suddenly able to move again, thrashed madly in the air and breathed shallowly in his panic. He swung his arms until he found what he longed for and feverishly slapped at the metal base. Eagle lay perfectly still as the lamp finally clicked on and the world was ordinary again. Its warm orange glow illuminated his small room.

Eagle sighed through quick gulps of air as his nightmare ended again. He had had the dream the night after the attack, and then again every night. It was always the same, but he could never change anything about it. He lay in his bed, the covers violently tossed to the floor in his fit of panic. He was sweating and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

The dream was horrific. Eagle had never told anybody this before, but he was deeply claustrophobic, with even small rooms putting him on edge. He always found it odd, but the only confined space he could deal with was a cockpit, as he felt at his most free in the air, even if he was trapped in a way. Anyway, he did prefer the cockpits of bombers and their spacious confines anyway, so it wasn't a huge issue. Furthermore, he was uncomfortable in any situation that he wasn't in control of; the reason that he often piloted his own bomber.

The greatest worry was the effect it was having on him. Eagle was determined, brave and iron-willed. He flew deep behind enemy lines, achieved what lesser men called the impossible and escaped without a scratch. He was not supposed to fear childish nightmares and empty hallucinations. They couldn't hurt him. They meant nothing.

Eagle repeated that over and over to himself. He looked over to the bedside table and saw his lucky goggles, right beside him as always. He took them in his hands now and held them to his chest. His father had given him those goggles. He always had told Eagle that he should never fear anything. His father used to say,

"Fear is just another name for cowardice. If every man who ever feared anything stopped worrying and started doing something constructive then there would be a lot less to be afraid about in the world"

Eagle had always believed that absolutely, but he wondered how his father would deal with what he was feeling right now, whether he could still be so strong given everything that had happened.

Eagle sighed into his hands. Drake's men had been imploring him to let them give him a formal burial ceremony again. Eagle wouldn't hear of it. He just repeated in his mind,

"There's no proof that either of them are dead. You don't bury the living"

Eagle knew that he couldn't go on like this. The attack on the north may have been scheduled for the next day, but he was in no state to command, everyone had noticed that, and he couldn't continue until he knew the truth. He had to find out everything for certain.

With no more delay, he leapt out of bed. He burst through the door into the corridor outside and, still wearing green long-sleeved pyjamas alone, quietly called over the infantryman on night duty and ordered him to gather whatever troops he could along with a pilot and proceed to the airport in order to ensure that nobody entered except him. He had to leave immediately, but he couldn't face them all. He had been tempted to leave when Sonja had revealed the information about the second fleet, but his pride had held him back. Nonetheless, his desire to leave had existed for a long time now, since the very beginning, and now he had no reason to stay. Max could take his units into battle. Eagle wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to do, but he knew what his first destination was; the refuelling depot.

Eagle got changed quickly. Green Earth troops seizing the airport would not go unnoticed for long, and he wished to leave before anyone else could talk him out of it. He put on his normal attire with his well-known scarf, before slipping his lucky goggles over the top of his head, letting them hang around his neck. He didn't pack anything to take with him and left without a word. He looked back at his possessions. Materials, objects, things. It all meant nothing. There was nothing left for Eagle here. The void left by his lost strength of spirit had been filled with nothing except this faint longing for nothing in particular. Eagle was empty, aimless, worthless. With that alone in his mind, he set off to find his purpose once more.

He arrived at the airport without event. His soldiers were blockading the entrances and his T-copter was preparing to depart. Eagle smiled to himself. All the fuss that had been made over refuelling didn't concern him. Eagle's units were renowned for burning less fuel than anyone else's. He alone could get any air unit from Green Earth to Orange Star, the longest journey anyone would ever have to make, without stopping once.

As Eagle walked out onto the concrete runway towards his escape from this place, he saw the thing that most wanted to avoid; Sami running at him, softly illuminated in the moonlight. Eagle had wanted to see Sami least out of anyone not because of any hatred that existed between them, but rather because of a fondness that he had possessed for her since the very first Black Hole invasion. Leaving was tricky enough, but being forced to accept that he was leaving a dear friend by having to watch them being left behind was far worse. Eagle was indeed quite poor at saying goodbye. Subtle night-time exits were his style. If anyone could persuade him to stay, then he knew that it would be Sami. He, furthermore, had no doubt that she would be right in everything she said. She was very sensible, but also very resolute and brave, qualities that Eagle both especially valued in a CO and recognised were rarely found comfortably together.

He tried to maintain a façade of being strong and calm, continuing to walk straight at the T-copter without looking at the girl who was now running faster towards him. Inside, he was being torn apart by the sudden rush of conflicting emotions. Part of him wanted to stay now, and let the past lie still. Another part urged him to run onwards and not confront Sami. A different part told him to face up to the girl and let her talk.

His clashing emotions had the decision made for them as Sami ran across the concrete and cut off his path to the T-copter. Trying to keep a poker face on, and trying to hold back the inexplicable tears that a part of him wanted to let loose, he stopped and faced Sami. She had a strong look on her face, and was clearly in control of the conversation before it even began. She said simply,

"You're leaving then"

Eagle made his excuses, claiming that he had planned this from the meeting and he knew what he was doing, hiding the fact that he was lost and confused and running from childish nightmares

"I understand why you would leave this way," said Sami comfortingly, "but to leave at all is the coward's choice. You should stay and fight besides us"

Eagle knew that she was right. He was running away. He had made his own choice when he had given the order to proceed with the attack. Now he was running away from the fate he had written for himself. Sami was completely right. There was nothing for Eagle out there except bad memories. He could rebuild things here. He couldn't admit that though. His pride forced him to try and leave anyway. He snapped back at her, trying to silence her sensible words, but his heart wasn't in it. Sami, undaunted, answered,

"I know that if Jess were here then she would be sending the largest force of anybody north"

Eagle was speechless for a moment. Were his emotions that obvious? She was right. Chasing ghosts would do nothing. Actions counted, not hollow sentimental gestures. He was being so selfish, running off, trying to find his peace, when he was needed. He despondently blamed himself for Jess' death.

Sami tried to reply, but Eagle suddenly felt anger surge through him. The mention of Jess had roused up strong feelings in him, and he wanted to vent his anger. He attacked the league, he attacked Sonja and her damned plans and schemes, he attacked anything that crossed his mind. As he drew to a finish and his tongue failed him, he didn't feel released from his fury. It was still there, burning inside him. He decided that it didn't matter how right Sami was in anything she said. He had to go and find peace with his past. He had to confront it. Until he did that he would never be happy.

Eagle accordingly slid open the door of the T-copter and climbed into the back. Some part of his mind didn't agree with his decision. He left the door open, willing Sami to follow him into the T-copter. He needed a friend now, more than ever. He pretended not to see her as she did follow him. She quietly said,

"Eagle, what are you going to do without your air force? How will you survive completely alone? Jess and Drake may be gone, but you have to stay strong anyway. To leave now is to rob this alliance of a valuable asset"

Eagle felt more contented than he had since the incident just to know that Sami cared so much for him that she would put so much effort into trying to get him to stay with her. He had lost two people very close to him. What sense was there in rejecting a third? He desperately wanted to ask her to join him, but knew that he had to walk the path he had chosen alone. Instead, he filled the pause with some meaningless bluster attacking Sonja.

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know yet"

That much was true, but more than Sami could know. His mind was in turmoil, desperate to go and face his ghosts, contemptuous of his own weakness, yearning to stay with Sami, someone who still cared, he had to go.

"Then why are you leaving?"

Eagle couldn't answer. He had no idea why he was leaving. He had no choice but to confess his confused state of mind. He came clean that he had no idea what he wanted, where he would find it, why he needed it or what he was going to do now, when he found it or afterwards.

"Peace?" suggested Sami

That was partially right, but he didn't know for certain. He had to go.

"You really cared for them both"

Eagle said something of no consequence, an empty reply. He cared for them so much. They were dead, and he was about to abandon the living for them. He was going to leave those who needed his help for those who were long beyond aid. His care was completely ridiculous, driven by an immense illogical craving. Nonetheless, however illogical, it would not be sated until he went out there and found his purpose in life once more.

"Eagle, don't go. I know she was dear to you, but you can't do anything"

"Maybe not. Sami, don't say anything else. You won't convince me to stay"

Nothing could have been further from the truth. Eagle's mind was in such disarray that it could have made any decision. A part of his mind, growing every second now, was screaming at Sami to keep reasoning with him. Jess had been dear to Eagle, but so was Sami. All it would take for Eagle to stay was for Sami to ask him once more, not as an aerial commander, but as a person, as a man. Please, Eagle's mind whirled in wavering hesitancy, just ask me one more time to stay, please…

"Very well. Find your peace Eagle, and come back. I'll be waiting"

That was it. The girl left the T-copter without another word. Eagle stared after her. She was gone. The voice of reason was gone. His reason to stay had gone. His mind, full of feelings, settled slightly. He ordered the pilot to take off and, as the T-copter pulled up into the sky, he looked down at Sami. She was walking away without looking at him. Maybe he had just imagined that she might have feelings for him. As the T-copter pulled away from Orange Star, the once proud prince of the skies let his tears fall once again.

As the first faint light began to appear in the east, still hours before dawn, a Green Earth T-copter flew over the restless sea. The pilot turned to the silent CO in the back,

"Where should I land, sir?"

"In the centre of the port. We have nothing to fear"

Hawke may have been audacious and backed up with seemingly limitless resources, but Eagle knew that he would not be foolish enough to try and rebuild a refuelling depot that he knew was vulnerable to an enemy strike in a location that he was certain the enemy were well aware of. Hawke had cut his losses and left the island. The fleet must have picked up any units left after the bombing run and evacuated.

Hawke had not wasted any time trying to clean up the location. The buildings lay smashed into the ground, as Eagle had left them. The streets into the depot didn't exist anymore. They were indistinguishable from the rest of the base, as there was nothing left but craters and shattered stone and shards of metal. Smoke still climbed into the sky from under a few of the buildings as some fuel tanks, only damaged, leaked and fed the ongoing fires.

Eagle tried to match the locations to his memory of the event. It was impossible. The scene was completely unlike what Eagle had witnessed. The entire sea front had ceased to exist, as the concrete quays and paths had been entirely wiped out, their shattered remnants hidden by the ocean. The boundaries of the base were uncertain since the forests had been torn apart in the battle, leaving craters of overturned soil littered with splinters of metal, which was all that was left of much of the base as well.

The chances of any unit in the base surviving the saturation bombing was exceptionally unlikely, probably impossible. If Drake or Jess had escaped, then they would have shown up somewhere by now. Therefore, they must have been in the base when the Black Hole fleet arrived. If they weren't already dead then they were up against a force that required around 50 landers to transport.

Eagle had known all this already. He had been in denial. What had he hoped to find here? A few spots where the road was undamaged, where Jess and Drake might have been standing? Seeing the place brought everything home. All his thoughts ordered themselves again, but this was not a joyful moment. Eagle had to accept it.

Drake and Jess were dead.

Eagle knew them both. They would never have surrended, just as he would not have done in that situation. Jess would have been on the front lines, and Drake would have been with her.

There was no chance that they had survived.

Drake and Jess were dead.

Eagle had done what he wanted to. He realised the basis for all that he had felt. He had been furtively praying that he would find evidence that they might have survived. He couldn't move on until he had seen where they had been with his own eyes. He was still pained by his grief, but there was nothing he could do about that. All his undecided emotions had been based around the hope that they might be alive. Now he knew that they weren't. He had wanted to know everything for certain. Now he did.

There was suddenly a great clarity in his mind. His feelings of emptiness melted away, leaving only his vicious hatred of Black Hole, which coursed through his body now. If his friends were truly dead then they would be avenged. Eagle had discovered his purpose again. Anger and hatred flowed through him. He cursed himself for his feebleness. He had been dropping tears when he should have been dropping bombs. He would have his revenge on Black Hole.

He sprinted back to the T-copter and leapt into it. He said to the pilot,

"Take off, now"

"Where are we going, sir?"

"Back to Green Earth"

"Sir, the country is fully occupied. If we stay there then we'll be killed"

"I don't care about your cowardice!" retorted Eagle, "As soon as we arrive, you may crawl back to Orange Star in whatever way you wish. I shall not be requiring your services for a return trip"

As the T-copter took off and sped west again, Eagle walked calmly to the back of the helicopter. He opened the ammunition locker and pulled out a handgun. He loaded the weapon and held it in his hand, smiling at it.

He would have his revenge.


	8. Confrontation

The sun rose and cast the shadow of the HQ across the courtyard, softly casting a warm glow across the gently lapping waves. Sami appeared from her quarters curiously late, customarily being the very first up, if she slept at all, a practice that she occasionally light-heartedly equated with idleness.

By the time she did emerge from the barracks, Max and Andy were already at the bases behind the HQ. Sami hadn't really slept at all. She had returned to her room after the incident at the airport not so much through a love of seclusion as an aversion to the rest of the world and not so much through a craving for sleep as an apprehension about being awake anymore. Sami had stared at the ceiling of the darkened room for countless hours, trying to keep her mind clear. The light had crept around the edges of the curtains, but Sami had taken no notice of it.

Sami had always thought of Eagle in the highest terms. He was a powerful CO, a justifiably confident leader and a gentleman, qualities that Sami respected in a CO but rarely found together. She had said everything she could to stop him going and it hadn't fazed him at all. His mind had been set irretrievably on his mission. She knew that she could have talked all night and he wouldn't have budged. His mind had been focused on his loathing of Sonja and the alliance and his nonsensical yearning for the dead. He had told her to stop talking. That was how much he cared for her advice or friendship. Maybe she had been wrong when he first suspected that they might have a future together.

Sami knew that she couldn't think about such things now. She had informed Nell the night before that Max would be commanding the Green Earth air force. She had a testing burden before her that day, and Eagle couldn't help her. That wasn't true. Eagle could have helped her. He had just decided not to. That was how much he cared.

Sami, still not quite ready to face her fellow COs, entered the nearby HQ through a back entrance and followed an ornately decorated spiral staircase to the top floor. She walked along the empty corridor and opened a plain wooden door, revealing a ladder. She lethargically climbed it, and pushed open a hatch, letting glorious sunlight shine in. She pulled herself out of the hatch onto the roof. The top of the Orange Star HQ was remarkably plain, with only an assortment of aerials and satellite dishes for communication purposes intruding upon the sea of dull red stone.

Sami briefly glanced out to sea, before turning back and walking to the far edge of the flat roof. The airport was heaving with Orange Star and Green Earth aircraft, which were preparing to take off before Blue Moon and Yellow Comet readied their forces for departure. Sami's real interest, aside from getting a moment's solitude, was with the land forces near the bases.

Orange Star units were lined up in uneven rows, stretching from almost right below Sami to far into the distance. She looked out to the north and saw indirect fire units creeping into the distance, leaving a cloud of dust in the early morning mist. Indirect fire units often moved on tyres and were notoriously slow. It made sense to deploy them earlier.

Tanks were pulling into the large crowds in front of the bases. The majority were medium tanks, but there were many normal tanks as well. This wasn't much of a reassurance given Black Hole's ability to produce neotanks with such ease.

There were very few anti aircraft weapons. This was largely because any war in the air could easily be won by the joint airforce of Max and Eagle, but also because the fleet reported was entirely naval. The airforce was composed largely of bombers, capable of dealing with any tank or lander, while anti aircraft weaponry could be destroyed by tanks or indirect fire.

Sami looked down and noticed the hundreds of men lined up just behind the tank regiments. Each held a long bazooka in one hand and a rifle in the other. Those were Sami's personal troops, and her most powerful ones. They were well trained, and even stronger than Emperor Kanbei's infantry divisions. Sami involuntarily smiled proudly. She was mildly surprised to see the units start to climb into their APCs, something that only ever happened shortly before departing.

Sami immediately ran back across the roof and climbed back down the ladder. Within a few minutes she was on the ground with her troops, supervising the men. She looked around but couldn't see her fellow COs. This wasn't very surprising. Max would be at the airport with his airborne contingents, and would probably travel to the front by T-copter. Andy would be with his divisions; the tanks and indirect fire units. Nell would be in the HQ itself. It could not be counted out that this whole invasion was a diversion. Nell was staying with a small force just in case another force appeared as soon as they reached the far north of the country.

Max was in charge of the airforce. Sami was in charge of the frontlines. She would be using mechs in the cities supported by artillery. Max's troops could take out the heavy weaponry and she could deal with anything else. Andy was in charge of the reserves. He would stay back with rocket units to provide covering fire as well as a large number of tanks, ready to push forwards if they needed a sudden burst of strength to repel Black Hole's troops. It was a simple plan, but very effective.

Within a few minutes, a first units started to pull away and move north as aircraft soared overhead. As Sami sat alone in a rumbling APC, she finally had time to think about this invasion. It actually made no sense. Black Hole's battleships had apparently been firing on the town for over four days now almost without a pause. Sonja had made it clear that it was tricky enough to get a fleet to Orange Star at all. How exactly Black Hole had managed to get a fleet here and still have enough fuel left over to delay at sea for four days without even attempting to land their troops was a mystery. Also, it was most peculiar that Black Hole hadn't sent over a single air unit when Blue Moon was fully subjugated. They could easily have sent bombers and fighters to support the attack.

Sami was baffled by this. The only conclusion was that this was a diversion and that the real attack would appear elsewhere. Nonetheless, they couldn't take the risk of leaving this fleet unchecked. If there was going to be another attack then they could reach to it quickly enough anyway as soon as this token force was put to flight.

Some time later, Sami felt the APC come to a stop. The driver informed her that they were at the outskirts of the city and that Max's T-copter had touched down nearby. Sami got out and looked out over the town.

She was at the top of a hill, under the early afternoon sun. It sloped down towards the sea and slowly became more residential as she looked further into the distance. There were more than enough roads to move quickly and without difficulty and, more importantly, much cover for her units to hide in. The sea front itself was the key area of interest. The areas either side of the port were covered with jagged rocks and steep cliffs. No units could disembark there. The force would have to push into the harbour itself and land in the city. Sami could see that that there was a long beach that was suitable for landing troops, but there were warehouses and industrialised areas lining the beaches, making it easy for hidden indirect fire units to destroy any landing force.

Sami was disturbed from her thoughts by Max running up to her. He began bluntly and with an angry tone,

"I don't get what this attack is all about! I just got word from the sub commander in this area, the resistance forces collapsed yesterday and withdrew from the town completely"

"Then Black Hole have had an entire day to unload their fleet, if there really are units in those landers. This must be a trick. We should finish off these units and head back south"

"I can't use the airforce, they are too many cruisers out there"

"Fine, I'll deal with the battleships. As soon as they fall the rest of the fleet can either retreat or be wiped out"

"I can't believe I came all this way for nothing! Aren't we supposed to fighting a war?" said Max, putting slightly too much gleeful emphasis on the word 'fighting'.

"It's like they were trying to draw us out here"

Sami looked out at the enemy forces. Six battleships floated in the still waters, their fire having temporarily ceased. Behind them were at least twenty cruisers, making flying over the sea impossible. Behind them were the fifteen landers, still floating in the bay. Then Sami saw it for the first time.

"What is that?" asked Max, having clearly just followed Sami's gaze.

Far out to sea, far further away from port than any other unit, was a single vessel. Sami had dismissed it as another lander when she had first glimpsed it. Now she saw how far away it was. The ship was huge. It was at least fifteen times the length of a battleship and about four times as wide. It floated perfectly motionless in the waves. It faced the port with its flank and was jet black.

"I don't know," replied Sami honestly, "but we have more pressing matters to take care of. I'll deal with those battleships. You be ready just in case. I don't know what that thing is, but I don't trust it. Oh, and tell Andy to pull forwards just behind me. I don't like this situation at all"

Sami gave the appropriate orders and her mechs and artillery began to move forwards. Sami led from the front, and directed them all down into the town. She was surprised that the battleships weren't even attempting to fire, although they must have seen her. Sami preferred to take advantage of enemy incompetence rather than give them the time to correct their tactics, and so took advantage of the peace by drawing up her troops as she wanted, with mechs waiting behind every building, and artillery just behind them, every unit with a clear line of fire, yet completely protected and hidden from the enemy.

Sami felt uncomfortable. Something was very wrong with the situation. Black Hole didn't act like this. She put her reservations about the mission on one side for a moment as she gave the order to fire.

The artillery let off their deadly explosive rounds with a thunderous roar. Sami peered out from her cover to see all six battleships in flames and retreating out of the bay. She was still very nervous about the situation. Her sub commander suddenly ran up behind her with a portable transmitter and passed it to her,

"This is Sami"

"Sami, it's Nell, I've heard about the strange vessel you've seen. It's called the Hydra. It's Black Hole's newest weapon. It's Lash's creation and she's presently in command of it"

"How do you know that?"

"Lash just contacted me. She was boasting about it"

"Nell, what is the Hydra capable of?"

"I don't know. I asked Lash but she just replied that we'd find out. I'll contact you again if I find out anything else"

Sami put down the receiver and as she stared out at Lash's new flagship , her look of confusion turned into one of terror. Air units were hurtling towards her at attack speed. There were bombers and fighters in large numbers. Sami stared at the ship. They were taking off from the deck. Lash had created a way to move an airforce to any location without using up any of their fuel while keeping them completely hidden. Sami seized the receiver and contacted Max,

"Max, get your airforce into formation! Only your units can deal with that force!"

"There aren't enough fighters! I thought we were dealing with a naval force. I can't repel that many air units!"

"Commander!" yelled Sami's sub commander, "Five of the landers have begun moving towards the shore just behind the air units!"

"What?" shouted Max over the radio, "Why now? If they had all these air units all this time, why didn't they use them before? Anyway, they've had all day to land these troops!"

"This isn't an ordinary CO. This is Lash. Remember, what fun is there in landing forces on an unoccupied beach? She's lured us here with those battleships and now she's going to pit her wits against us in a real battle. She deliberately kept those units hidden until now to make sure she'd win!"

"What are we going to do?"

"There's nothing we can do. She's playing with us. If we hold our positions then we'll be torn apart, but if we fall back then she'll take the beaches, and the main point of us being here is to stop that. She's sent the bombers and the landers in at the same time to see what we'll do!"

"And what will we do?"

"I have to fall back or we've lost this battle. If you fly over the sea then the cruisers will tear you apart. I have to fall back and set up a defensive line further back. We still have the rockets pointing at the beach, and if you can take them on in the air, we've got a few missiles and anti air units to help out with. We should do well enough, and I think we can take the unloaded units on the ground"

Sami gave the order to retreat and the troops fell back in a blind panic. The bombers meanwhile turned and headed to the far east of the harbour, before turning harshly around and trying to make an attack run over the seafront as the landers edged ever closer.

Max's inadequate group of fighters charged headfirst into the Black Hole troops, diving into the deadly black swarm. Max's superior fighters tore through Lash's bombers and fighters like tissue paper, but he took losses in return and Black Hole had enough fighters and bombers to weather the storm easily. Max's fighters turned and pursued the Black Hole air units but he had to order them to pull back as the Black Hole fighters threatened to get behind them.

Meanwhile, there was chaos on the ground. Sami's troops couldn't retreat fast enough as the merciless and unrelenting bombing continued. The warehouses and buildings on the seafront collapsed into rubble and dust. Some of Sami's men were killed by the explosions, while the rest were thrown into disarray. Sami frantically tried to draw up new defensive lines, but the dust and noise, roaring explosions and pitiable screaming, stopped her being effective. It became all too clear that Sami had suffered significant losses, as had Andy. Some units were retreating out of the city completely, while others were trapped on the sea front as their retreat was cut off by falling debris and collapsed structures.

Sami, struggling to gather her troops together and restore order, saw that the bombers and fighters had completed their attack run over the port and were slowly circling around the bay ready for another pass, which would presumably be focused on areas deeper into the town. Even worse, the first wave of landers had just put in at the beaches. The landers poured forth neotanks and anti air units. The force was huge and deadly.

Just to add insult to injury, a single bomber had broken off from the rest of the squadron and was heading straight at the middle of the port. Max's airforce was occupied. Lash's fighters were hunting the Green Earth bombers, and the alliance couldn't afford to lose them. Max was therefore forced to pull his bombers back and try and take out the fighters in aerial dogfights. He was winning, but the distraction was serving its purpose; Max's airforce was inescapably busy when it was most needed elsewhere. Lash had this well thought out. Threaten the bombers and you remove the fighters from the battle, and she was leading them increasingly far away as she ordered her fighters to push Max's bombers further out into the countryside.

The single bomber reduced its altitude and rushed just over the waters. It was going to fly low and fast right over the heads of Sami's troops. Tactically it meant nothing. The significance was that this was Lash's personal victory. She could fly straight over Sami's lines and she couldn't do anything about it. The effect on morale would be beyond measure.

As the bomber soared over the beach and approached the lines unopposed, Sami was shocked to see the aircraft shudder as several impacts knocked it off course. Another two blasts and the bomber dropped far too low before smashing into the rubble on the seafront and bursting into a sea of flames.

Sami scanned the horizon but failed to see any fighters. Sami's sub commander ran to her through the clouds of dust, carrying the transmitter,

"Commander, there's a priority message for you"

Sami held the receiver loosely by her ear, expecting Max or Andy's voice to follow and explain, as she directed most of her attention at the skies. An unexpected but familiar voice rang out confidently through the speaker,

"The Eagle soars once more!"

As Sami looked out to sea she saw a large force of Green Earth fighters tear through the Black Hole mass of bombers and fighters. The planes came out of nowhere over the sea and launched their missiles at point blank range into the defenceless flanks of Lash's units. As Eagle's pristine and sturdy fighters appeared unscathed from the cluster of air units, Lash's forces, tattered and disorganised, broke from formation and scattered through the skies. Lash's cruisers turned and pursued the newly arrived units for revenge, but couldn't match the pace of Eagle's fighters, which outran the ineffective fire with ease. As Eagle's outstanding air units came back around to finish off Lash's chaotic forces, another set of units appeared close to Sami.

Green Earth's bombers appeared over the harbour and passed straight over Sami. The force was bigger than Lash had possessed at the very start of the battle. Eagle's bombers soared effortlessly over the beach and dropped destruction on the unloaded units from above. The tanks and anti airs were scattered, faced with the overwhelming strength of the assault. Some tried to hold their lines and were overwhelmed by the falling fire. Others tried to push forwards into the city and were torn apart by Sami's mechs because of their lack of order. A few tried to retreat into their landers and escape by sea, but Eagle's strength wasn't to be denied and his units tore the landers apart as they fled in terror.

Lash's forces lost all focus as they were so suddenly thrown onto the defensive. Her overawed cruisers turned back to the shore and tried to fire on the bombers, but Eagle's force wove through the fire as the occasional hit bounced harmlessly off his superior air units. The fighters that had been playing with Max headed urgently back towards the shore and the bombers there, but Max's fighters were quick to regroup and he shot them out of the sky.

As the exhausted and damaged air units retreated over the sea towards the Hydra, Eagle, who had landed in a T-copter somewhere nearby, approached Sami on the ground. She impulsively threw her arms around his neck,

"Eagle! What happened? Why aren't you finding your peace?" asked Sami excitedly

"I won't find it out there. If I want to rebuild my life, then I have to stay focussed on what's important and keep living, not grieve for the dead evermore"

"Where did you get these units?"

"Green Earth. I found part of the forces that they captured without a fight. I was able to free the pilots without too much fuss and we were gone before they could do anything about it. To be honest I was hoping for more of a fight"

"So you'll rejoin the alliance?"

"I suppose I have no choice"

Sami hugged him again. Eagle then turned out to sea,

"Don't you think you're celebrating a little prematurely? I do believe that it's time to sink that monstrosity" Eagle pulled a small radio from his belt to his mouth, "All units, prepare to make the final attack run on the Hydra!"

Eagle's units pulled into attack formation in seconds and raced out over the sea. Without warning, a deafening series of blasts rang out over the ocean. Bright blasts and clouds of smoke appeared as the Hydra fired its cannons. Eagle saw three of his bombers get blown back by the impact before bursting in flames and dropping into the still waters. As they were trained to, his force carried on regardless. He pulled the radio to his mouth again in a panic and yelled,

"Pull up! All units, pull up!"

Eagle's units banked harshly to the left as they sped back towards the port in an unaccustomed retreat. Lash's ship continued to fire and knocked another bomber out of the air before changing targets to the town itself, driving powerful rounds into the devastated town,

"How can that ship do that?" demanded Eagle angrily, "How can it fire on air units from such range with such accuracy and power?"

"Eagle, look!" yelled Sami, pointing out to sea at the unfolding circumstances. The remaining air units, circling the ship, had been joined by many more. The force was even larger than to begin with, containing enough fighters and bombers to engulf the alliance's troops, "The Hydra, a mythical creature capable of restoring any damage done to it instantly. We should have known that Lash would leave us a little clue of what she was capable of"

"We have to pull back our forces. We may have the strength to take on those cruisers on their own, but supported by that force it would be suicide. The air battle's going to have to take place over the city itself again" said Eagle calmly

Sami didn't reply as she ran past her defensive positions, trying to pull her units into an effective resistance when they were already dangerously weakened. She returned to her original position to find Eagle gone, just as she saw the new Black Hole force coming straight at them.

The first wave was nothing but fighters, and was coming straight at the city. Sami was dismayed to see the next wave of five landers setting off towards the shore at the same time. Max and Eagle's troops were circling just behind the town and, seeing what was happening, they had no choice but to meet them in a head-on charge to protect the bombers. The alliance's fighters hurtled forwards and fired at Lash's troops before they fired back. Sami watched as the alliance's airforce appeared better off from the first confrontation, but was still in the weaker position as Lash outnumbered them so greatly. The fighters of both sides pulled around sharply with little order and the battle descended into a colossal dogfight.

As the bombers of both sides were kept back by fear of fighters, the landers pushed forwards onto the beaches without Eagle to stop them. This time the advance was more urgent. Medium tanks and anti aircraft weaponry charged forwards into the cities and fired randomly into Sami's exposed and helpless lines. Sami, faced with overwhelming fire, had to retreat to new lines. She was horror-struck to see the anti airs that had just landed were firing on the alliance's aircraft. The air war that Eagle had been winning was suddenly turned against him. Faced with this onslaught, Eagle's fighters had to fall back further.

Sami heard over the radio that, with the beaches taken, the final five landers were preparing to land. The ground battle was almost over. Andy's reserves had already been spent plugging holes at various points in the line. Sami's troops couldn't fight anymore. Max and Eagle were being pushed further back every minute by the unified attack on their units.

Lash had won the battle.

Sami had no choice but to give the order to retreat. As she dejectedly tried to organise her remaining crippled units so that they could withdraw from the town safely, Lash announced her victory clearly. The thunderous explosions roared over the sea again as the Hydra's cannons fired on the town. Sami cringed and waited for the ear-splitting crash as the shells tore through the already crushed port.

No noise came.

She, further up the hill now as she supervised the removal of her troops, looked out at the distant Hydra. The same bright blasts and clouds of smoke as before appeared from the Hydra as the cannons fired, but they weren't hitting anything. The explosions ceased. But the Hydra continued to churn out swirling smoke. Another blast erupted, but from the front of the ship, away from the cannons.

Then Sami saw it. Another fleet had appeared behind the Hydra, barely visible on the horizon. Black Hole battleships were firing on the Hydra, tearing it apart. The Hydra was returning fire, but it was heavily outnumbered and the undoubtedly unexpected attack was wreaking havoc on the huge vessel. Sami ran across a street covered with debris, craters, shards of metal and settled dust and seized a radio from one of her generals,

"Eagle, a Black Hole taskforce is firing on the Hydra!"

"That's impossible Sami. My men didn't spot any other fleet out there before and no new one could have arrived that fast"

"Eagle, I can see it with my own eyes! Someone is using Black Hole's own vessels against them!"

"That makes no sense. Anyway, no fleet is physically able to move so fast that it could sneak up without my units spotting it long ago… unless… Drake!"

As the mysterious fleet continued to outmanoeuvre Lash's new toy and get the better of her in combat, a blast took out the communications of the Hydra. The effect on the battle was instant and momentous.

The air units, suddenly lacking any instructions, panicked and broke formation. Those that stayed to fight were torn apart by the well-ordered alliance troops. Max and Eagle joined their forces and tore the Black Hole forces apart.

The ground units turned and fled, routed by the sudden and rapid victory march of Sami's troops, taking cover in their landers, which pulled away from the shore.

The third wave of landers, seeing the chaos on the land, turned back towards the Hydra.

As the Hydra was crippled completely and lost any offensive capability at all, it began to creep back towards Green Earth. The mysterious fleet pulled in front of the Hydra, blocking its escape. The Hydra came to a stop and the craft that had so confidently launched fighters and bombers began to send out T-copters. As the cruisers, landers and evacuation T-copters fled in disarray, the Black Hole battleships fired after them, doing huge damage to the pitiful withdrawing forces.

Back on land, Eagle picked up a small radio,

"Eagle, do you hear me? It's Max"

"I hear you Max"

"Should we send bombers after them?"

"No, those cruisers make it too risky. We have our victory for today, thanks to Drake. That is enough for now"

As the battleships surrounded the Hydra and began the immensely difficult task of towing the vessel to port, a single Green Earth T-copter flew out from the port towards the leading battleship. Eagle sat in the back, a broad smile on his face, warm tears being frequently rubbed away. For the first time in a long while he was crying out of happiness instead of grief.

Drake had escaped. Eagle had known that he would. It was not in Drake's character to be killed; he was far too easy going for serious matters like that. Drake had escaped from the refuelling depot with one of those incredible acts of daring he occasionally pulled off and later claimed were nothing out of the ordinary. He must have got in, rescued Jess, escaped, fled to Green earth, and stolen a Black Hole fleet from under Hawke's nose, clearly showing his pirate heritage.

His fellow COs were alive. Drake and Jess were both aboard that ship. Eagle's T-copter hovered just above the battleship's deck, the pilot having repeatedly mentioned that T-copters couldn't land on battleships, and Eagle himself hopped out. No radio contact with his friends had been made, the reason he had come out by T-copter, but they had made contact with the ships and the crew had confirmed that Drake was in charge of the fleet.

Eagle walked forwards over the empty deck in a slightly bemused fashion, ships not really being Eagle's thing and his experience of them being brief and disagreeable to him. He looked ahead to see a wonderfully recognisable and friendly face that he had mourned the loss of for far too long. Drake stood in the doorway with a warm smile. As the sea captain walked forwards in an informal way, as was to be expected from a man who could well have spent the battle in a hammock, Eagle sprinted forwards and threw his arms around Drake's portly frame. Burying his tearful eyes in Drake's shoulder he blissfully wailed,

"I told them you were alive! I knew you were alive! They are said you were gone! I knew that you were alive! Never do that again! Never leave me alone again!"

"Now Eagle, I hope you haven't gone soft in my absence" teased Drake

Eagle lifted his head and gazed at Drake affectionately through his red eyes,

"Thank goodness you're safe. I didn't know what to do. You, how?"

Eagle, still beaming amiably, looked past Drake for a moment,

"Is Jess on one of the other ships?"

Drake didn't reply, but, gently pushing Eagle back, walked past him and stared out to sea,

"I'm sorry Eagle"

"What happened?" said Eagle, his face completely blank

"I found her on the island. She was injured but alive. I managed get most of her troops onto the landers, but then that fleet blocked our only escape. Your attack had already started with overwhelming strength, so we had to get the troops out. Jess refused to go. She stayed behind with a few rocket units and managed to take a clean shot because the enemy troops had been scattered by the bombs. As you passed overhead, I set off. I don't know how, but Jess managed to take out one of the cruisers and I was able to slip out with the fleet before they could close up the gap.

My landers took hits from you and the Black Hole fleet. We had no choice but to head to Green Earth; the fleet was cutting off our return to Orange Star. I just managed to outrun Adder's units, and I got the units safely home. Once there we joined up to a resistance movement and I did what I could to hinder any fleet preparations with the land forces.

When we saw the Hydra depart we knew that you might need some help, so I managed to capture one of the Black Hole fleets at anchor. By the time they realised that we weren't supposed to take it we were gone. Supply convoys in Blue Moon and Yellow Comet were both happy to give us fuel when they realised who we really were. It was thanks to Jess that I was able to capture that fleet, and thus because of her that this battle was a victory. I'm sorry I couldn't save her. Every lander departed while she was on the island. There's no way she could have escaped. I'm sorry"

"Don't apologise old friend. Jess knew what she was doing when she accepted that mission. Anyway, I think that's how she'd want to go; facing impossible odds while saving someone else. She never put herself first. You did what you could, and we all owe a lot to her. At least her sacrifice wasn't in vain. She had a glorious death, the death of a true soldier"

"That is true. I am sorry though"

"No, it is enough that you are alive. This is a war, and we must be thankful for every mercy, not resentful for every loss"

The two men, walking side by side, reunited by a stunning victory and a terrible loss, strolled inside the ship together as it sailed towards the port.


	9. Digging up the Past

_Dear gentle reader, if you are still reading this story, please do continue to review every chapter so I know whether or not I should keep writing. Cheers, Foulds_

A girl sat in a darkened study in a quiet corner of the huge Orange Star HQ. As she had increasingly snappily ordered, the soldiers patrolling outside were sneaking as softly as possible. Curtains were drawn to prevent her being distracted, and a powerful lamp focussed on the cluttered desk that she was hunched over left the girl with no idea what time it was.

It had been four days since Sonja had arrived back. Despite heavy losses, especially in the north, the two missions that had been launched had been huge triumphs. Both the absent Blue Moon COs had returned safely, as had one of the dead ones, thanks to a story that Sonja had not tried to understand, simply welcoming Drake back warmly. The alliance had also inflicted vast losses on Black Hole.

Sonja, despite everything she had on her mind, had also been asked for her opinion on the Hydra. Drake had ascertained that it was that ship that had caused all the problems for Sonja's plan. The ship had been basically hollow, effectively a floating port and airport combined. It was a huge refuelling depot and a hive of hangers and boathouses. The entire fleet had been able to refuel in it every night. Drake had discovered a huge amount of abandoned military equipment inside the ship, both naval and air units, with enough bombers for it to have credibly been the force designed to occupy the whole of Orange Star after it fell. Perhaps the only thing of real interest was the fact that Drake had made it quite clear that the idea that Lash had employed, launching planes from ships, was quite simple and that it would be feasible to adapt landers to serve the same function, giving them a huge edge in the naval campaign. It was already possible to launch B-copters from cruisers, so there was no reason to assume that fighters and bombers couldn't take off if a ship with a short runway could be built.

Sonja had joined in the joyful celebrations for the first day after she returned and had feigned interest in the elaborate and epic version of events that her father related over a sumptuous dinner. Since then she had retired into her study every day as the other COs got back to organising and repairing their troops. Everyone had taken great interest in listening to Grit's stories of what the two newly returned Blue Moon COs had got up to behind enemy lines, even if he was continually interrupted by the injections, assertions, corrections and furious denials of Olaf. Sonja had yet to listen, but was sure that they had achieved many significant victories.

Now she was stuck in her study again, getting more and more irritable by the minute. After the first meeting in which the business directly relating to the two missions was dealt with, Sonja had asked for more time to study the White Sun Scrolls before she related anything to the rest of them. Three days had passed since then and she had put off another four meetings, but she had finally decided to tell the COs everything in a meeting later that day, even if she couldn't give them all the answers.

Scattered around her were the papers and notes she had made when she was young and teaching herself Sun Script. She let her head fall to the desk and repeated over and over in her mind,

"Why, in the entire year I tried to learn this language, did I never once look at the real White Sun Scrolls or their translations?"

Then she remembered.

It was because they were incredibly difficult to decipher and immensely boring.

Despite the exciting legends of good and evil, the only solid evidence for White Sun was a dull account of trivial political decisions and records of taxation. Sonja had learnt from books made by those who had possessed the patience to translate these texts, who thus held a desire to spare anyone else the agony of ever having to do it again.

She had rapidly dismissed most of it as irrelevant to Black Hole's mining operation, except for one page, which she had been slaving other for days. She understood what the words meant, or at least just about, but was unable to figure out exactly what it was talking about or what the significance was exactly. She continued to compare two virtually identical characters in an attempt to determine the significance of a thin line that would change the meaning of the entire passage, unless it was in fact the result of an inept scribe's inadequate concentration, which Sonja was becoming progressively more wary of. As she glared fiercely at the insufferable symbols, she heard the door open slightly,

"Sonja…"

"What?" she snapped brusquely

"I do believe that you need a break"

She looked up with fire in her eyes as she slammed a handful of notes onto the table, she had specifically ordered there to be no interruptions, and saw Sensei standing in the doorway,

"I apologise Master Sensei, but this is most frustrating"

"I understand, but I bring unfortunate news"

"Please don't tell me it"

"The time you set for your meeting was ten minutes ago. The others are waiting already"

"Wonderful" said Sonja indignantly as she gathered up the papers in a haphazard haste and walked out of the room quickly. Sensei, having wisely stood aside to let her pass, strolled into the room and picked up the papers that she had left and then, having put them into a semblance of order, he followed the girl.

The conference room was wonderfully full when Sonja arrived. Olaf and Grit were both telling their stories again, but separately from each other and to different audiences as it became clear that the two versions of events were completely unable to coexist, especially at the point where Olaf either daringly personally commanded his men across heavily defended river, leading from the front or tripped over a log and fell into a muddy stream before needing three men to pull him out, depending on whose account you believed.

Drake had also returned, but to boast about his accomplishments was not in his nature, so he simply enjoyed hearing about Grit's adventures.

Sonja rose to the stage and was about to begin when she was interrupted. She was saddened to see Eagle standing there again, just as he had last time. He wasn't even going to let her start. As she looked downwards, he began,

"Sonja, I want to apologise for my harsh words before. I wasn't thinking clearly. I know that I made my own decisions out there, and nobody forced me to do anything, just as nobody forced Jess to go on that mission"

Drake nodded

"Nonetheless, I do feel that to fail to spot such a huge vessel with your supposedly far-reaching intelligence gathering, and to know nothing about it in advance at all, is quite extraordinarily hopeless…"

Drake, frowning, elbowed Eagle hard in the leg,

"…but I must concede that the Hydra's ability to refuel fleets during their journey was an unforeseeable circumstance. And so I have no choice but to apologise for attacking your inability to explain the arrival of the second fleet as well. I pray that you can forgive my insensitive words"

Eagle sat down and Drake smiled at him. Sonja strongly suspected that Drake may have written that little speech for Eagle, except for the bit in the middle, but the fact that Eagle, unfamiliar with apologising for anything, had been willing to say it at all was a great relief for Sonja. Feeling imbued with confidence, she began,

"Thank you Eagle. I appreciate your kind support. Now, as you are all aware, Sensei and I were able to sneak into Green Earth. A hunch led us to the White Sun Scrolls. I concede that it has been exceedingly difficult to understand them since Black Hole is in possession of the translations, but I have made some progress, though it is vague and to some extent based on deductive reasoning.

Most of the papers seem to be records of the governing class' statutes or financial records, since the civilisation seems to have been based around a feudal society, ruled by a small aristocracy.

However, despite the fact that the papers seem to be an exceedingly condensed history of the civilisation, there is a notable absence. There are no military records whatsoever. This could well be the root of the myth that the White Sun people were peace-loving. There is however an uncharacteristic page at the very end. It is alarmingly vague and its meaning is questionable, but I have spent most of my time on this section and I believe that it may refer to military issues.

It begins with a brief recitation of a part of their history not mentioned elsewhere. I shall now read the section literally translated, with the gaps filled in as well as possible through common sense,

'The elders of the White Sun people wrote these things in the 22nd year of our sovereign lord.

Far to the east, our peace was turned against our will, having been surprised.

The shadow men, wreathed in darkness, crawled from the ground and threatened our harmony.

Under the watchful eye of heaven, we made a new White Sun.

It was the purpose of the sky dwellers to give them twofold eyes.

The eyes must always be together, for without the one, the other will die.

Below the eye of heaven, the White Sun shone forth and beat back the shadow men.

They were not able to suffer the light, and crawled back whence they came.

Since they had died, we stood without an enemy.

We regretted what had been done and grew to fear the White Sun.

We hid the White Sun, where even heaven's eye could not look upon it.

We pray that the twofold eyes will never look upon each other'

After that there is a technical description of the destruction of their providence, which is too detailed for me to understand. I will begin by showing you something"

Sonja clicked a button on a remote control and an elaborate symbol appeared on a screen. The centre was an obvious simple depiction of the sun, a circle with lines coming from it, but with detailed patterns adorning it,

"The symbol in the centre obviously refers to White Sun, but the arrangement of lines shows that this means the White Sun people"

Another picture appeared, featuring the White Sun symbol with a different set of lines surrounding it,

"These lines signify that this means the White Sun capital city"

Another picture then appeared, with only the White Sun symbol present,

"As you can see, this means simply White Sun. I originally took that to mean the White Sun nation, but that failed to fit in with the passage I just read or what I had seen. The extract makes it clear that the White Sun people used the White Sun to defeat the shadow men in combat before destroying it.

The people's providence was, obviously, the sun, and they seemed to see the sun as one eye of heaven and this White Sun as the other eye of the gods. Hiding it where the sun cannot look upon it must refer to it being buried, which fits in perfectly with what I saw in Green Earth.

Although this is speculation, I do believe that the shadow men, wreathed in black, may have been the original Black Hole army. We know well enough that Black Hole is exceedingly old," Sonja glanced at Sensei momentarily, as he knew this all too well, "and it is possible that their sudden appearance in the first wars was their re-emergence after White Sun destroyed them at whatever point in history that happened.

As for the White Sun itself, I cannot say what it is exactly. The passage makes allusions to the weapon being powered by the sun, creating light intense enough to defeat Black Hole troops, but presumably powerless against anything else given that White Sun people were not harmed by it.

The mystery is why Black Hole would want this weapon. It is only capable of destroying their troops, and we would never have found it ourselves. I don't understand their reasoning.

That is all I can reveal for now, at least until I do some more work into this"

Sonja sat down as the COs gently applauded while beginning to talk amongst themselves. The peace was shattered by an Orange Star infantryman bursting in,

"Commander Nell, there is a Black Hole T-copter approaching the east coast"

Nell got up and proceeded out of the room without a word, followed closely by the other COs. They all marched into a small communications room where men where making notes while working a radar. Nell went up to one of them,

"When did you spot the T-copter?"

"Commander, we didn't"

"What?"

"We haven't spotted it yet. It isn't in range. The pilot contacted us and informed us of his position"

"Are the fighters ready to depart?"

"Yes, but the pilot is requesting permission to land"

"On what grounds?"

"He claims to be on a diplomatic mission. He has requested that we guarantee his safety before he comes into missile range"

"Are the troops ready to depart?"

"Missiles and rockets are lined up along the coast. If anything appears other than that T-copter then it will get destroyed"

"Very well, tell him that his safety is guaranteed, and make sure he knows that those missiles are there." Nell turned to a different man, "Have artillery pointing at the airfield anyway, and make sure he lands nowhere near any buildings"

"This is not wise" said Sensei as Nell walked out towards the airstrip, "I have had dealings with Black Hole before. They may have peace on their lips, but you will never find anything except war and foul trickery in their minds and hearts"

"I know that there are risks, but it is not wise to shoot down ambassadors. We are ready for any large force, and we will have ample weaponry and men at the airfield to protect us. I think it would be advantageous to hear what Black Hole has to say. An insight into their minds and plans would be exceedingly useful"

Sensei nodded silently as the COs walked in a subdued fashion to the airport. Within a few minutes, the area was teeming with troops. The COs, at some distance from the spot that the T-copter had been ordered to land, were surrounded by infantry. Missiles and artillery were set up around the outer edge of the airport, ready to fire.

The COs looked around as the dull and ominous roar of the Black Hole T-copter became unmistakable. The helicopter sped over their heads and gently touched down without event in the very centre of the airfield. There was total silence as hundreds of weapons were intently trained on the single defenceless T-copter. The COs began slowly walking towards the helicopter behind their bodyguards, as the door was opened and pushed ajar, before swinging round and hitting the side of the T-copter, making a noise that was easy to hear throughout the hushed and tense airport.

As a solitary figure emerged from the gloom of the helicopter and stepped down onto the concrete, the COs froze.

Before them, casually slouching, smiling arrogantly, was Adder.


	10. A Snake in their Midst

_Dear all, cheers for the many reviews restoring my confidence that I should bother continuing! Sorry that this took a fairly long while to appear, I've just been planning the next bits in rough._

_Just to clear up some confusion mentioned in a review. I am doing CO powers differently from the games. The COs don't really have them anymore, as they didn't strike me as realistic, but the effect they have (such as Jess refuelling) has just been written into their innate skills as a CO. The exception is of course Hawke, who I am having as using Black Wave as an actual power. Hope that makes it all less confusing!_

_Please keep reviewing every chapter you read to let me know I should continue, and, as a special bonus this chapter, mention your favourite character at the end of the review... Let's just say that I have a scene planned and the most popular characters can go in it... Anyway, read, enjoy, REVIEW! Cheers, Foulds_

As the harsh sun beat down onto the concrete airfield, the COs stood perfectly still, petrified by a mixture of disbelief, alarm and shock. Adder leaned nonchalantly against the T-copter, keeping his face in the shadows. He glanced around with an obvious revolted reaction to his surroundings on his face, despite his ever-present self-assured sneer. He was plainly in no hurry to say or do anything that would put an end to this unnerving state of affairs, seemingly revelling in causing turmoil and trepidation.

A soon as they had seen him, many of the men had raised their rifles and prepared to fire without an order being given. Most of the soldiers had served in the second wars and had heard horrifying stories of how Adder had treated captive prisoners. It was in the mind of every man that to shoot him dead would be a service to Orange Star and the world. Only the continued silence of the COs stayed their hands.

The man was seen as inhuman. He failed to feel emotion besides an unceasing complacency. He didn't even look natural. His face was a pallid white, in sharp contrast to his eyes that were hidden away in black shadows created by the twisted contours of his countenance. His hair was a disconcerting purple, but he wore clothes with streaks of a matching colour as if proud of this oddity. His posture was repulsively crooked, and his back seemed to be deformed naturally. His mouth was the worst part. Adder's mouth drew attention through its constancy. He always held a superior and arrogant expression on his lips, which were as sickening pasty as the rest of him.

It was a mark of his self certainty that he was making no effort to talk to the COs. Adder was playing power games. He would make the COs talk to him. Failing that, he would talk in his own time. The COs knew well enough that he was a coward when at risk, but he was fearless when he held the initiative, as he did now.

The COs were burning with emotion. Their enemy was in front of them. He was unarmed and powerless. After everything that he had done, countless troops knew that he was a single bullet away from death. Each CO felt a mixture of anger, fear and curiosity. It was just a question of whose emotions would flare up first.

The question was answered as Kanbei, shaking with rage, stepped to the front of the COs. He called across the deathly silent airfield,

"My people may suffered at your hands. You have driven me from my fatherland. You showed no mercy to my nation, toying with their lives for the sake of your plans. How dare you stand before me? Will my country bow to Black Hole, enslaved, while you stand before me free and alive? Revenge is not the way of the samurai, but, for all that you have done, you cannot be allowed to live. Face my blade, coward!"

With one effortless movement, Kanbei drew his polished sword and charged forwards. His daughter yelled for him to stop with no success. The remaining COs held their ground silently, all of them uncertain whether this was a good or bad thing. He took large strides, his sword ready to strike. Any man, faced by such a sight, would have turned and fled. Kanbei fell on Adder as a soaring falcon falls on the lowly field mouse. The distance had been covered in seconds by the raging samurai, and all the time Adder stood perfectly still, unfazed and overconfident.

As the samurai was within a few steps of Adder, he pulled his blade behind his back with a single well practised motion and, still running, brought his weapon around him furiously, releasing a startling war cry. Adder, outwardly unmoved by his imminent death, unemotionally and straightforwardly said,

"Sideslip!"

Kanbei, having failed to notice this, swung his blade at Adder with unstoppable force. A purple shadow flicked across the airport so fast that it passed without detection. Kanbei's sword cut through the empty air and, hurtling into the insubstantial breezes, cleanly tore through the side of the T-copter that Adder had been so offhandedly resting against just a fraction of a second before.

Kanbei, baffled and incensed by the loss of his prey, his sword still drawn and raised, surveyed the airstrip in a livid frenzy, desperate to kill his enemy. The other COs also began to look around fearfully. A familiar boastful voice from behind them made the COs turn around in a panic as every unit in the airport changed its target without delay, throwing the men into alarm and dread. The sneering and scornful voice rang out clearly,

"So, that is what the honourable Kanbei has come to. Is it truly the way of the samurai to strike down an unarmed man in a fit of anger? I almost feel unwelcome"

Adder was known for commanding troops capable of moving exceedingly fast. He also made fast decisions. What few people knew was that, like his namesake, he possessed a deviant and inhuman agility, allowing him to slip away short distances faster than most people could see, completely unnoticed, and this allowed him to evade enemies by running and hiding, breeding hatred of his foes instead of poison, and hiding in underground shelters instead of under rocks. Every bit the adder, he had slipped out of Kanbei's reach and taken them all by surprise.

Nell turned to a nearby soldier and muttered to him,

"Give the order to advance on him slowly. Don't panic him. Search him for weapons and then bring him to the conference hall"

The men slowly proceeded to surround Adder. As they got closer to him, he yelled out to Nell, still standing in the same position,

"Do you honestly think I have come here bearing weapons? If I was armed and that was my goal, then you would all be dead by now and I would already have slipped away back to Green Earth"

Nell didn't reply as Adder allowed himself to be frisked with an air of contempt about the fact that he, Adder, was being touched by these louts and oafs. Having found no weapons, the men marched Adder at gun point to the conference room, although he made sure that he walked at his own pace. The COs closely followed behind as the men moved to arrest the pilot of the T-copter and search the helicopter itself for any deception.

It was tense and stressful in the silent conference room. Adder had, according to his own penchant, decided that he would prefer to stand upon the stage. Nell had made it clear that troops had been ordered to fire if he tried to leave the area without permission and that several snipers were aiming at his head, but he had seemed indifferent and unmoved, taking far more interest in a small mirror on the wall. The COs sat in the front few rows, except for Kanbei, who, overruled by Nell, sat at the back, still furious and eager for revenge.

Sonja, always the most level-headed CO, was the first to ask him,

"Adder, why are you here?"

"I come here as your ally, yet I am regarded with contempt, handled roughly and the victim of attempted murder. I should leave right now"

"Adder, why are you really here?"

"I have defected from Black Hole, as I have said, and I have come to lend you my aid"

"Now Adder," said Sensei calmly, "do you honestly expect us to believe that? You've been happily waging war against us for some time now. If I do remember correctly, after the final battle of the second invasion you joined Hawke, claiming to follow the strong. Well our strength is less than Hawke's. I am not a vindictive man, so you should just return to your master now, tell him that we are as weak as he probably suspects, and be grateful if none of us send an airforce after you"

"At least your tongue still works well old man, but I have my reasons for being here"

"And what might they be?" asked Sonja

"I acknowledge that I chose to follow the strong after the second invasion, but Hawke has become too powerful. I am here in my own interests. Hawke will shortly become so strong that he will have no need of me at all, despite my incredible flair for battle"

"What reason do we have to believe you? Why shouldn't we kill you now?" asked Sonja

"Don't try and scare me, girl, you won't succeed. The fact is that you won't kill me, whatever happens, as while I am alive, whether you trust me or not, I am your only source of information about Black Hole. I can tell you everything you want to know"

"If you are truly sincere then you won't mind answering some questions"

"I don't appear to have a choice"

"What did you mean when you said Hawke was about to become too powerful?"

"Forgive me for asking, but do any of you know what this invasion's objective is? Or what the previous two invasions sought to achieve?"

"Carry on"

"I thought you wouldn't be able to figure it out. Pay attention to what I am about to say, I won't repeat it, so try and keep up. Every invasion's aim has not been simply conquest. If that were the case then you would have all died long ago. First, I have to tell you a story.

Many years ago, although I don't know exactly when, there were two countries in the world. The first ever civilisation was White Sun. They expanded unopposed, and never needed a military, lacking an opponent. They became the first ever empire. That was what they thought. Deep beneath them, in the depths of the earth, another nation was already powerful, and also seeking to expand. They were the Black Hole people, our founding fathers.

As the two met, a bitter war broke out. The larger and older Black Hole army drove the White Sun people to the gates of their capital city. The man who led the Black Hole forces was the greatest tactician that ever lived, and the finest warrior, Sturm.

The White Sun citizens discovered a weakness of the Black Hole people. Their underground origins made them weak to sunlight, although not seriously. The White Sun people succeeded in making the White Sun; a weapon that could use light to wipe out Black Hole men without a fuss. They used the weapon on us, and drove us not just out of their land but deep into the earth again. Sturm accepted that he would have to take his men back to his own country, but then White Sun followed us and sought to destroy us completely.

Sturm refused to retreat further or let White Sun into his country. He was hit with the final blast that the White Sun ever released. He was burnt hideously and left scarcely alive. To survive, he had to reside inside the same suit and mask that you have seen him wearing.

The mechanical nature of his new body allowed him to live on from that day until the present moment, even though it has been over hundreds of years from then until now. Sturm is indeed from another world, from not from the stars, but from deep within the earth, the true heart of the Black Hole nation. He nursed hatred of White Sun and desire for revenge in his heart for hundreds of years, biding his time until he was ready to strike.

But then the White Sun nation crumbled on its own. His purpose from then on was to take his vengeance on those who were descendants of the White Sun people, your four nations.

But revenge wasn't enough for him. When you spend so long planning retribution for what you have suffered, you inevitably form a twisted sense of humour about it. He began to plan suitably poetic justice. The fruit was his first invasion. What better way is there to take vengeance on four countries that you detest than to make them destroy each other? That was why his first invasion was attempting to create civil war instead of just invading with all his strength.

When that invasion failed, he came up with another idea. He craved to use the very same weapon that had ruined his people and destroyed his own body to return the favour. In the second invasion he lost his sense of subtly to some extent, and launched a full invasion.

But the reason was not to destroy you. It was simply to keep you all busy while he searched for clues about the White Sun's existence. His search drove him mad. It was the reason that he never took to the battlefield during the second invasion until the final few clashes. The whole second invasion was a diversionary tactic to allow Sturm to retrieve the White Sun. He failed, but Hawke now has it at his disposal"

"Is that what Hawke was digging up in Green Earth?"

"Not bad for a child. You seem to be quite sharp. It's no wonder that you beat Lash… Yes, that is exactly what Hawke was doing"

"What exactly is the White Sun?"

"It was a real weapon, and it was incredibly powerful. The White Sun was a fairly simple idea on a giant scale. It was capable of absorbing and storing sunlight, before amplifying its energy and releasing an unstoppable wave of light. The light it produced was not that dangerous, so it didn't actually damage anything it struck, but the Black Hole people were sensitive to it, and could not stand firm against it"

"Did this have something to do with Sturm's death at Hawke's hands?"

"Possibly. I don't know. Sturm kept this goal secret from all of us, and nobody knew about the White Sun except him. I suppose that when Hawke did find out about it accidentally, he obviously didn't want Sturm to possess such a powerful weapon, as it would leave Hawke himself in a weak position and expendable.

Hawke bided his time, and removed Sturm at the perfect moment; the army was in tatters so there was little chance of a civil war over leadership. Hawke retreated to Black Hole territory and rebuilt the nation from scratch, putting himself at the top. Shortly afterwards, Sturm's intel about the White Sun fell into Hawke's hands, and he decided to pursue Sturm's plan.

This whole invasion has been about the White Sun. All else is incidental. A few naval taskforces mean nothing"

"So you found out all this when Hawke did?"

"No, that is just what I think happened, but I do tend to find that I'm never wrong, so what I've said will be correct.

I didn't find out about it until we were in Green Earth, and then only because I had stumbled across it. Hawke wouldn't tell me what it was, so I found out myself. When I discovered the truth, I was just as terrified of Hawke as Hawke had been of Sturm. The difference was that Hawke had the perfect opportunity to kill Sturm. Hawke, having seized his leadership by force, was well aware of the dangers if I found out, so he surrounded himself with security and wouldn't see any of us in person. That is why I fled. I knew that as soon as the weapon was complete, I would be unnecessary, so I have escaped here instead"

"I don't believe you. Why would you flee now? Why this exact moment?"

"I can't tell you" said Adder more quietly, suddenly sounding less arrogant

"You are in no position to refuse to tell us anything. What happened to make you leave?"

"I left to come here as soon as I could"

"Then what was delaying you?"

"Fine, I'll tell you. What I've said isn't wholly true. Hawke discarding me wasn't just a fear. It has already happened. I was ordered to come and report to him four days ago. When I arrived I was seized by his bodyguards and thrown into a cell. I demanded to see Hawke or at least be given a reason and a chance to reply to whatever Hawke suspected me of, but he wouldn't come to see me.

It seems fairly obvious to me. He must always have felt threatened by how great I am at everything. The fear of me deposing him, as I could have done quite easily if I had put my mind to it, drove him over the edge, and he threw me in prison. But I had the last laugh. I escaped his little prison complex within days and fled here for refuge"

"Do you know what either of them wanted with a weapon that could only hurt Black Hole troops, not any of us?"

"Don't be so short-sighted. They have no interest in the White Sun. That is just a duly appropriate way for them to pay you back for what you did to us. The device is nothing more than a way to intensify an energy source. The White Sun people built it to magnify the power of sunlight, but it could be modified to amplify another form of energy"

"Such as what?"

"Hawke is going to focus energy through his body into the White Sun. He will effectively create a hugely powerful form of his own Black Wave, strong enough to wipe out whole armies. He will turn the White Sun into the Black Hole Vortex"

The hall descended into shouting and frenzied talking at the horrific thought of a massively amplified Black Wave. As Sonja called for order, Adder continued,

"When such a powerful weapon sits almost completed and untested in Green Earth, you can hardly blame me for leaving"

"If self interest is your motivation," said Sensei, "then at least your story is realistic. Where are the other COs?"

"Flak would never leave willingly. He is only happy controlling a huge force. Simple things and simple minds, I suppose. Hawke has no reason to remove him. Flak lacks the intelligence to rebel. He will still be controlling the army that is protecting the White Sun.

Lash has been constantly toiling over the apparatus through which Hawke will be able to make his Black Hole Vortex a reality. That was the reason that she was originally recruited by Sturm. She only left briefly to test out her little toy; that ship that you captured. It was a project that she'd been working on for some time. She was quite upset when her tattered forces limped back to Green Earth without it.

Hawke himself hasn't left Green Earth for some time. I assume that he is personally overseeing the final stages of the extraction of the White Sun. The weapon will be ready soon, by the way"

Sonja went silent for a moment, before turning and whispering to Sensei,

"Master Sensei, what do you think about all of this?"

"I want peace and a resolution to all this more than anybody here, but we have heard Adder's talk of a peace treaty before, and trusting him nearly cost us all our lives.

I am most suspicious of the man. I do believe that he has been sent here by his master on account of his glib tongue and deceitful nature. He may be trying to compel us to chase after a fictional weapon so that we will rush into Green Earth rashly and unwisely battle Flak's huge ground forces. I believe we should take him prisoner and interrogate him further before we make any decisions"

Sonja turned back to Adder,

"Why should we believe anything you have said, or anything you will say?"

"Because, you foolish girl, I alone know the troop placements, weapon formations, scheduled fleet movements and… perhaps I know about an attack that will be hitting your shores quite soon"

"Don't even try to blackmail us. You will tell us about this attack, or you will die"

"Lash was, as I said, quite furious that you would wreck her new boat on its first outing. She has gathered every fighter and bomber in Blue Moon and will throw them all at you simultaneously. An irresistible attack, unless you knew when it was coming…"

"Adder, don't toy with us…"

"Of course, I wouldn't dream of toying with you, they will arrive one hour before dawn tomorrow. They will be coming straight at this HQ over the sea from the most western port of Blue Moon, where they are refuelling today.

If I am lying, you may kill me and there is no harm done. If I am right then I will have proved my goodwill to you"

"I have had enough of this nonsense!" yelled Eagle from his seat, "All this proves is that Black Hole is willing to sacrifice a few planes to make us believe this preposterous fiction. I am convinced that Adder is lying, not least as his past behaviour suggests a loathing for the truth. I will, personally if necessary, deal with this man now, as befits either a spy for the enemy, or a traitor to his country. Adder, kindly choose which you would like to be"

"I'd watch that temper if I were you, Eagle. I wouldn't do anything to me in your position. I'd have thought that you especially would want me alive, seeing as I know something of some importance to you…"

Eagle leapt up onto the stage and grabbed Adder's collar, before saying to him through his infuriated bitterness,

"If you have something to say, say it, or I will kill you myself"

"What if I were to tell you that the girl was alive?"

Eagle let go of Adder, and backed away from him, shock evident on his face,

"What are you talking about?" Eagle suddenly rushed forwards and grabbed him again, this time lifting him and pinning him against the back wall, "What girl?"

"Jess, was it?"

"Where is she?" yelled Eagle, still holding Adder to the wall, shaking with rage

"It seems that she survived your bombing run. I think you may be losing your touch. A surviving Black Hole infantryman saw our forces scattered by the bombs. The girl was able to get out into the forests, and we lost track of her. When the main fleet arrived afterwards, they sent a search party after her and explored the whole island. They found her, trying to form a resistance out of a few crippled tanks.

She was taken back to Green Earth. I know where to find her, although it would be quite pointless to tell any of you, as only I could find and release her, such is the level of security around her, and the complexity of the area.

Would you believe that I was locked away in the same area! I capture her and lock her away, and what is my reward? To be thrown in the cell opposite her!"

"You! You were in charge of that fleet!"

"I was following Hawke's will, just as you were following your orders"

"I don't follow orders"

"Neither do I, except when I want to. Hawke's specific instructions were to capture the CO if possible, and bring any we could acquire to him, alive. He wouldn't give a reason. If I had returned without the girl then I would be dead now. This was my lord's doing, I am just his tool"

"How dare you stand before me!"

Eagle drew a combat knife from his belt as Grit jumped up onto the stage. Physically throwing himself between the two men, he said,

"Now just settle down y'all. Let's not go doing anything rash"

Meanwhile, Sonja shouted up,

"Eagle! Killing him will not save Jess! All it will do is end the one chance we might have to get her back! We need him alive for now"

Eagle put Adder down slowly and, being guided by Grit, returned to his seat without a word. Sonja then asked,

"Why would Black Hole want Jess?"

"I don't know. That is Hawke's business, not mine"

Sonja turned to Sensei,

"I think that that is enough for today. We should interrogate him privately later. He may speak more openly when not in front of an audience"

Sonja was interrupted by Adder talking to her,

"This has been a busy day and I have had a tiring journey. I do believe that I shall retire for the evening. Where are my quarters and the kitchen?" Adder made to leave through the main door, but Max leapt up and prevented him leaving, "And would somebody please get this ape out of my way"

As two soldiers seized Adder by each arm and began escorting him out, Sonja casually mentioned,

"Adder, you are a prisoner of war. You are being locked away"

"Locked away? Me? Twice in a week? This is a travesty! At least give me a nicer cell than Hawke did, that one didn't even have a balcony!"

"You are aware that you are lucky not to be executed on principle as a prisoner of war and a commander of Black Hole?"

"I have rights! I am a refugee, driven from my homeland by fear of persecution! If there was any justice in the world, I would get a free house and sizeable benefits!"

"A refugee driven from your homeland? So are all of us, thanks to you"

"Oh you just wait," yelled Adder as he was dragged out, "as soon as Hawke's gone, I'll be in charge of Black Hole, and then I'll take vengeance for this shoddy treatment. You're all going to suffer my wrath! You'll be executed!" he said, pointing at Olaf, "You'll be executed!" he continued, his hideous white finger aimed at Kanbei

"Shut up" demanded Eagle

"Oh, that's it, you're getting tortured and then executed! Badly executed!"

As Adder was finally dragged out of earshot, the COs looked at one another. Today had been rather full of surprises, and this unexpected turn of events was going to make matters a fair bit more complicated from now on…


	11. Truth and Lies

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Dear all, this section appears to have become a regular part of each chapter, ah well. Anyway, a big thanks to a certain schizophrenic reviewer for the immensely useful comments. Just a small note, on rereading this section, it struck me that the geography is rather nonsensical, as it sometimes takes days to get from Orange Star to Green Earth, sometimes far less. I will try to keep distances and journey times consistent from now on, but sorry if this confused anyone. Anyway, just remember, read, enjoy, and then REVIEW! Cheers, Foulds

A single man stood on a bare but grassy mound, looking out over a cliff at the sea. It was still quite dark, but soft light was beginning to creep over the east horizon. The sea was still, and the sound of the waves was the man's only companion. A light breeze brushed through his hair and trim beard. The man stared out over the sea at the still black western horizon. The black specks against the slighter brighter sky, which he had been watching for some time, were getting closer.

Grit called out to a man behind him and, as a sub commander ran forwards and saluted, he began,

"Tell the boys to fire when they're ready"

The man ran away and there was a long pause, or at least it seemed quite long. Suddenly, a succession of surprisingly quiet blasts erupted behind him. Grit stared onwards as a series of missiles passed above him in great numbers and almost silently raced forwards with a hushed murmur.

Grit watched his missiles fly through the murky daybreak. After a short pause, the gloomy sky was lit up by a chain of fiery and intense explosions in the distant skies. More missiles and more far-off blasts followed.

Grit watched an airforce in the distance, so powerful and confident as it had approached, get torn apart, completely impotent, far removed from Orange Star's shores. The attack had been foiled with no risk to the alliance's troops long before it was in any position to pose any threat.

Grit loved indirect combat units. They were so civilised compared to that direct combat thing that Max always talked about. So, Lash's attack had come. Adder had been telling the truth.

Lash had, as Grit would have guessed from his experience of her in the second invasion, let her emotions get the best of her, as Max did sometimes, much to Grit's constant aggravation, and thrown together a reckless and brash assault, relying on nothing except pure strength. Grit had told her openly that the biggest force wasn't inevitably the best. Perhaps she would learn this time.

Grit walked back towards the HQ as fighters screamed overhead and roared out over the sea to finish off the crippled and shattered Black Hole airforce.

Elsewhere, the carnage over the motionless dark waters was observed from afar by another solitary figure. He didn't care about the one-sided battle over the ocean. He was looking out past the battle, beyond the horizon, wondering what was out there. In Green Earth. Could she still be alive? Even if Adder had captured her, it wasn't certain that would hadn't been executed by now.

Just behind the pensive figure, Drake was watching silently. Drake, having been contemplating this for some time, breathed deeply, closed his eyes and forced himself to cross the short distance from where he was standing to where he wanted to go. As he arrived at the ledge that the first man was crouching on, Drake, suddenly suffering an attack of fear, fell to the ground and curled up briefly, before slowly raising his head, still sweating, much to the bemusement of Eagle.

Eagle looked at Drake with a hint of bewilderment. Drake stood up quickly and tried to maintain some dignity, still staying as far away from the edge as possible while also appearing to be wanting to be close by. Drake was terrified of heights, but was willing to make sacrifices for Eagle's benefit.

Eagle was, in what was a clear sign of insanity from Drake's point of view, sitting on a thin ledge that was clearly not supposed to sat on. He was sitting on the very edge without the slightest concern for his potential death. Drake, having had to endure the agony of climbing the ladder to get up to the roof of the Orange Star HQ, even this simple act making him most nervous, had sat down on the roof just behind Eagle, in order to avoid seeing the drop, trying desperately to look comfortable.

Eagle gave Drake half a smile but didn't say anything. After a pause, when Eagle briefly resumed pondering whether Jess could be alive, in which Drake came to the conclusion that his actions had been very poorly thought out and that the height he was at would most certainly kill him if he fell, Eagle finally said,

"The attack came. He has passed the first test…"

Drake sighed. He had come up here worried that Adder's words might be affecting Eagle badly. He had also known that Eagle would be up here. Whenever Eagle wanted to be truly by himself, you would never find him in his quarters. Eagle had always, as long as Drake had known him, climbed to the loftiest point of the highest building he could find and stayed there for hours. It was quite possible that he did this knowing that it would keep Drake himself away to avoid any interruption at all.

Drake had once asked him about it, and Eagle had confessed that he had adopted the peculiar habit when he was a child, when he had climbed to the top of the tallest tree in his hometown whenever his father had to leave, which was fairly often. He spoke as comfortingly as possible to his dear friend,

"Eagle, the fact that this attack came doesn't really mean much. You said yourself that all this might mean is that Hawke is willing to throw away an insignificant fraction of his strength to make us throw away all of our troops in a rash attack on Green Earth. Adder's claim that she's alive could just be a ploy to keep him alive after he's revealed all the other information he was privy to. Please don't dwell on this. Come back down to the others with me. You know as well as I do that rushing in wouldn't help Jess, even if she is alive"

Eagle nodded silently as he got up from his lofty perch and followed Drake back down to the other COs.

Some days later, as Adder's presence was put aside and they focussed on their troops, morale was quite high. New units were being constructed at a fast rate, the damaged units that had fought in the north were being repaired efficiently, and the troops that Olaf and Grit had brought with them had been pleasingly numerous. The scattering of Lash's assault had also helped self-confidence. Three attacks had been launched against the Orange Star mainland, and all three had been fully repelled.

Even the White Sun wasn't weighing too heavily on the CO's minds. Sonja had redoubled the level of reconnaissance around the area in Green Earth, and would know if anything was happening there. From what she could tell from reports, the White Sun was still underground, although she couldn't tell if Hawke would hypothetically be ready to use it as soon as it was excavated. Either way, Adder had said that it was untested. Hawke was not so much of a fool that he would attempt to use an unproven weapon at its full strength without running a series of experiments first, not least as if it were to go wrong then it could destroy his whole army.

Sonja's attention over the last few days had been focussed on interrogating Adder. The process was slow as Adder was quite determined that nothing bad was going to happen to him whatever he said or did, and so he refused to speak until his latest demands were met and his grievances acknowledged. He would probably have been executed by now, except that most of his demands were for increasingly exotic food, and his complaints were largely about the colour scheme of his cell. He had also demanded more mirrors, which were now the principle covering for the walls of his cell. Nonetheless, she had made some progress, and called a meeting that afternoon to put forwards her suggestions. Sonja was still technically in disgrace and not a formal part of the alliance, but she had now been unofficially allowed back to continue her duties.

As the last few COs strolled in and sat down, Sonja, standing upon the stage began,

"I thank you all for coming at quite short notice. As you aware, I have been getting information from Adder over the last few days and I believe that I have come up with an idea that should hopefully please everybody. My ideas are all about potentially rescuing Jess.

Firstly, I would like to point out that we now have some breathing space, since we are not being invaded, to pursue less urgent agendas. I have now completed my reconnoitring network through our territories. If another fleet departs from Green Earth then I will know instantly, giving us more than enough time to draw up our defences. I will also know if any of the units around the White Sun begin to mobilise.

I would have thought that, after Lash's attack destroyed what is at least a significant amount of their air force, Hawke would want to repair the damage done as his first priority; if we potentially possess air superiority then Hawke will want to combat that. The last thing he needs is an overburdened airforce stretched beyond its limits with the White Sun still vulnerable. I believe that this may have thrown him onto the defensive, at least for a short while.

Now, moving on to what Adder has told me. He claimed that he was taken prisoner after being called to Hawke's personal headquarters, which are entirely separate from his base at the White Sun excavation site. Adder was able to give me a rough idea of where this base is, and my own intel supports what he has said"

"Then it is decided!" proclaimed Kanbei, "Yellow Comet shall rescue Jess! Spirits are high after the crushing defeat of the troops in Blue Moon! It is the way of the samurai to strike at the heart of his enemies without fear!"

"Father, you must not act heedlessly! It is true that your evacuation of the Blue Moon forces was a success, but that was dependent on conditions that are not present in this case.

In Blue Moon you were able to appear in the harbour almost without warning and then disappear again just as fast. Hawke's headquarters are far inland. You would have to unload your units and spend hours moving across Green Earth territory. Hawke will be alerted to your presence and have a great deal of time to draw up a full resistance.

Anyway, Blue Moon was relatively undefended. You got to the shores without encountering a single enemy. The Green Earth beaches will all be well guarded to keep the White Sun safe. A fleet will attack you before you can even land.

The forces in Green Earth are too strong to take on a direct assault. We may have some breathing space, but we cannot throw away our advantage. The only option is to act with a degree of subtlety"

"I do believe," said Sensei, "that the normal procedure would be to send in a unit of elite infantry to extract her quietly. Is this what you intend to do?"

"Under normal circumstances, I would follow that course of action, but the security at Hawke's base is just too high. Infantry without guidance cannot deal with this task. I have no choice but to suggest that we must go in ourselves, if there are any volunteers, that is"

"I volunteer. I'll get Jess out of there!" declared Sami

"Well why not? I suppose I'll mosey on down there with you" added Grit

"I suppose you'll be needing my help anyway" said Eagle

"Kanbei will join you!" proclaimed Kanbei boldly

"Excellent," said Sonja, "this is what is required. You are all highly skilled with your chosen weapons, but remember that you must not use force under any circumstances. If Hawke gets at all suspicious of what is happening, then none of you will ever escape"

"Sonja," said Sensei, "I am sorry if my counsel is unwelcome as I am too old to undertake this task myself, but I must speak up. I am uncertain that this is a wise course of action. You are putting four COs into an exceedingly dangerous situation for the good of one CO, who may be dead anyway. I beg you to reconsider"

"Master Sensei, I am aware that this is potentially quite dangerous, but I am also confident that we have the upper hand, as Hawke is not aware that Adder is with us, and he has provided much useful detail about the base"

"Sonja, please, you must not have such blind faith in that man. His heart is filled with evil intentions"

"That is true," said Eagle, "so what exactly are we going to do about Adder? How do we know that his intel is reliable?"

"I say we call his bluff!" exclaimed Sami, "If he is so willing to help us then we take him with us to Green Earth and force him to show us where Jess is!"

"That is not wise" said Sensei, "He may want to be taken back to Green Earth. It would save him the return journey. Even if he is with you, there is nothing to stop him leading you all straight into a trap"

"Nonetheless," said Sonja, "Sami is correct. You do need to take Adder with you if you are rescue Jess successfully. He is your biggest advantage over Hawke"

"Then how are we to ensure that he is not lying?" declared Eagle with an annoyed tone, "The man is so overconfident, he fears nothing"

"That is all bravado," replied Sonja, "he is truly a coward. Faced with a rifle pointed at his head, he won't dare to lie to any of us. If he is taken into Green Earth at gunpoint and told that he will be executed at the first chance that it may be a trap then he will help us"

"That doesn't matter," said Sensei, "we have all seen his inhuman speed. What is to stop him slipping away from us into the shadows as soon as he gets the chance, leaving you all trapped behind enemy lines?"

"I have had an idea about that, and I do believe that it is quite appropriate"

The COs went from looks of confusion to wry smiles as Sonja got out what she was referring to and showed it off to the assembled COs. Sonja was holding what appeared to be a dog collar and a lead. Sonja then said,

"Adder may have great speed, but that is all. He may move fast, but his body is completely unchanged and solid. He will not be able to escape this collar"

"And if he does?" asked Eagle

"There are two ways to dissuade him from trying to escape," replied Sonja, "firstly, the collar can be tightened around his neck to immobilise him, and, if you were to release the lead and he were to escape then, the collar is fitted with a device that can give him an electric shock, which is activated by remote control, which you can keep on you at all times. It is simply painful at first, and it will certainly stop him running away, but a prolonged shock may cause permanent damage and then, potentially, death, so be aware of that. Faced with no chance of escape and guaranteed death if he were to try and lead you into a trap, I believe that he will not lead you into a prearranged ambush, even if that was his original intention"

Sensei and the other COs all concurred with the plan, although Sensei still seemed apprehensive. Later that day, the precise arrangements were decided on. Adder revealed that the T-copter he had come in would not have been missed, as it was one of the standard models from the Back Hole airfield, which were regularly taken out and brought back some time later.

It was decided by the four that had agreed to go that there was no point in wasting time. Eagle's engineers made adjustments to the Black Hole T-copter for the rest of the day to allow it to burn fuel as efficiently as Eagle's own, since having to land to refuel seemed unnecessarily risky. They decided to leave the next morning.

Later that afternoon, Adder was informed about their plan by Eagle, who had volunteered to do so. Adder had been admiring himself in the mirror when Eagle had opened the hatch in the door to his cell. Adder didn't look up, but said,

"No, that's very kind of you, but I told you before, I'm quite full, although the duck was delicious… just leave it here anyway"

"Adder, it's time for you to earn your stay here"

"O great prince of the skies, how you honour me with your presence, speaking so boldly when there is a solid steel door between us"

"We are going to rescue Jess"

"Good luck. I'm sure that you'll be successful"

"And you're coming with us"

Adder's face contorted hideously as he bent forwards as if the very words pained him,

"You… you can't be serious! It's suicide! I refuse to go!"

"You said it yourself. Only you could possibly find and release Jess. If you are unwilling to join us, your allies as you claim, then this strikes me as a trap. Tell me, will the T-copter you flew out in be shot down on its return?"

"I… I can't go. I won't go"

"Explain yourself, or I will personally denounce you as a fraud. If you are found to be false and no use to this alliance or to Jess then we have no reason to keep a dangerous man like you alive"

"I would simply be more useful to you here. I am… not cut out for life on the front lines. I prefer not to get my hands dirty. The mission you are describing is grunts' work, not mine"

"Tell me the truth"

"Hawke will kill me if I go back! He is not a forgiving man!"

"I am not forgiving myself when faced with scum like you. You are going whether you want to or not, unless you admit that your story was a ruse, in which case you will be executed now. If not, you'll be going with us, and if we suspect anything, then you'll die out there, or, if what you say is true, Hawke will have his way with you, and that won't be pleasant either. I suggest you stick with us"

"Fine, I will lead you" said Adder quietly


	12. Revelations

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Hey all, cheers for reviewing the last few chapters. Just before you read this chapter, I would like to point out that I have indeed seen Star Wars, and I am aware that there are several parallels to be drawn between my fic and it, especially in this chapter, but also the whole Sturm being deformed under suit Vader thing (although Nintendo clearly intended that resemblance to be there). This is not intentional, so sorry. Anyway, BIG plot twists coming up, so read, enjoy and then, as always, REVIEW, cheers, Foulds

Much later on the next day, the Black Hole T-copter flew over the lush countryside of the south of Green Earth. The trip had been completely without event, but the COs would have greatly preferred to be shot out of the sky than to listen to any more of Adder's endless protests. He had complained about his shoddy treatment, how cold his cell had been, how he had been given his brunch late yesterday, and, most of all, about the dog collar. Adder really disliked the dog collar. If he wasn't commenting on how degrading the situation was for somebody of his stature, then he was asking what exactly Sonja had been doing with a shock collar and lead to hand. It was quite possible that he would be dead by now if Eagle hadn't been in the cockpit with the Black Hole pilot, claiming that he preferred to check their bearing personally, just in case.

As they approached their destination, Sami, who had unofficially assumed the role of leader, laid out their exact plan of action,

"The base is on the top of a large ridge, right by the cliff. The base contains Hawke's personal quarters, his command centre, his communications centre and Lash's experimental weapons hangars. Hawke and Lash are the only two COs allowed here under normal circumstances, but Adder has been here before, obviously, but he does not know the full details about it. An airfield is right next to it.

We will land on the eastern edge of the airstrip, as it is closest to the base and proceed there. The entrances are all heavily guarded, but Adder should be able to let us slip in unnoticed. Once in, we should meet with little resistance. Jess' holding cell was in the lower levels. We can proceed there by whatever way seems most appropriate when we are inside, release her and leave by the same way we came in"

"Something just ain't quite right here…" said Grit, staring out of the window

"What is it, Grit?" asked Sami

"Hmm, so, when we escape, we return here to the same T-copter, is that right?"

"Yes, I believe so"

"Well, Adder is well restrained and subdued, but what about that pilot? What's to stop him running off and telling all his friends about our little visit?"

"You don't need to worry about that" said Adder offhandedly, "Isn't it obvious? You really do possess the most remarkable slow wit. Lord only knows how the likes of you repelled our second invasion. Didn't you ever wonder where Black Hole was getting its seemingly endless supplies of new soldiers and pilots when we were in a foreign country that we had occupied? We were hardly recruiting, were we?"

Adder left a brief pause just to make it clear to the invisible audience, who all loved him for being so clever, that the COs hadn't figured out something very evident, which he would have done in their position, obviously,

"Black Hole's troops are all clones. Honestly, you should have figured that out by now"

Sami thought back. She had been aware that Black Hole had dabbled in genetic manipulation before, a large part of the first invasion had been based around Sturm's use of the clone of Andy, but she had never stopped to consider that it might be on such a huge scale,

"They are all clones?" asked Sami, "Where do they all come from?"

"The Black Hole nation is built on the strength of its clone armies in this day and age. Sturm didn't use them so much. The Black Hole people were utterly loyal to him, so he had little need of a clone army. Sturm preferred to just play with genetics and see what he could make. He enjoyed playing God.

When Hawke took over, his position was quite shaky. He had seized the command of Black Hole by force, and wasn't confident that the Black Hole nation would follow him.

You remember that I told you that Hawke reorganised Black Hole from the ground up when he became our lord? That was one of the first things that he did. He rapidly built up the research facilities into cloning and started producing a vast clone army in place of the traditional army of Black Hole citizens"

"But why?" asked Sami

"Because clones don't think about who they are taking orders from, they just obey and fight. They made Hawke feel more secure. Eventually he began to cut out Black Hole citizens from any position of power, fearing that they might be plotting against him.

Now the whole Black Hole nation is dependent on clones. Every infantryman, pilot, member of staff, engineer, private, general and sub commander is a clone, designed purely to do their job well. Only the Commanding Officers are left now. Everyone beneath us is manufactured by Hawke.

They are all totally loyal. Their genetic code has been tampered with to make them appropriate for a prolonged war. They feel no fear, so their morale never drops. They see the world in black and white. They work alongside their equals, shoot remorselessly at their enemies and obey any order from a superior without question. They can think independently, but only to a degree, and they cannot comprehend the idea of ignoring or harming a superior.

Therefore, you have nothing to fear from that pilot. If I order him to wait for us and not move until we return, he will not move until the only man in the Black Hole army to outrank me, Hawke himself, orders him to"

The COs looked up as the pilot told them in flat drone that they were approaching their destination. Sami looked out through the window. Below her was the largest airport that she had ever seen. The concrete surface stretched off into the distance,

"Are these the hangars for the entire Green Earth occupational airforce?" asked Sami

"No," sneered Adder, "this is relatively small airstrip. The main one is further north. This is purely to protect Hawke's base and Lash's weapon testing grounds"

Sami looked back. T-copters were reassuringly taking off and landing at various points in the airfield, helping them to blend in, but she was still worried. Sonja had been right, if the alarm was set off, then they wouldn't escape. The T-copter descended and landed gently at the far east edge of the huge expanse of concrete.

Eagle, now with the others, turned to Adder,

"Now it's time for you to prove your worth, and just remember…"

"Oh, I wonder, let me guess," interrupted Adder, "could it be that if you suspect that I'm leading you into a trap then you'll kill me? What an original sentiment. I do hope that you're a better pilot than you are an orator"

Eagle turned to Sami,

"Sonja said that only a prolonged surge would kill him, right?" said Eagle as he pulled the remote control for Adder's shock collar from his pocket.

"No shocking Adder until he actually does anything wrong" replied Sami as she took the remote off Eagle

"Then can I shock him?"

"Yes"

"If you two are quite finished with your inane chatter," said Adder, "then I do believe that I'll get us inside now. We can't just walk in. It would be too conspicuous. I think I know a way in though"

Adder walked forwards and came to a abrupt stop as Eagle, still holding the lead, didn't get up. After Eagle allowed a few seconds pause to make sure that everyone noticed that he was in control, he got up and let Adder proceed. Adder walked through to the cockpit,

"Pilot, call the kitchens and tell them you have supplies for them. Make sure that they send a roofed truck, nothing uncovered"

"Yes sir" came the pre-programmed response. Adder put his head back through the door,

"This base has a large amount of security, and it takes a lot of food to maintain such a huge number of troops. A delivery of fresh supplies won't seem at all odd. We can stow away in the back of the truck and get into the kitchens. Obviously, there won't be much security there. From there, we should be able to find a lift to the lower levels quite easily. It's a simple plan, so even you four should be able to keep up with it"

Adder was cut off by the roar of the truck pulling up to the door of the T-copter. Adder turned back to the pilot,

"Stay right here until we return. If anyone asks, you are here to pick up a unit of infantry that is being transferred to the northern airstrip, which has been slightly delayed. You are forbidden from revealing to anyone that you have seen me or any of these people. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir"

Kanbei, Sami and Grit jumped across into the truck first, followed by Eagle and Adder together, tethered to one another by the lead tightly wrapped around Adder's neck and Eagle's wrist. After a minute, the truck started up and drove out of the airfield.

The base was surrounded by several security walls. The outer wall was a tall metal fence with barbed wire at the top with a few divides surrounded by troops. The inner wall was an even taller stone barrier with gates in various parts, complete with guardhouses and gun emplacements.

As Adder had said would happen, a routine delivery of food, something that must happen many times a day, did not warrant soldiers checking the contents, and the truck was waved through without question. It pulled round to the back of the enormous building and entered through a recently opened large metal door. Adder waited for the driver to come round to unload the supplies. The man, clad in a helmet as all Black Hole troops were, recoiled in shock at the sight of a Commanding Officer in the truck before saluting. Adder quietly hissed at him,

"You are dismissed from your duties. If anybody asks you why you have been dismissed then you will tell them that you were instructed by a sub commander to report to a private who should be wherever you are. You have not seen me, or any of these people. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir"

The man walked off and, only when the COs heard the door close behind him, they all climbed down from the truck. Despite what Sonja had said, they were all armed. If you were going to get caught anyway, you should at least put up a fight. Sami held her accustomed rifle, Grit carried his infamous revolver, Eagle possessed the same handgun that he had brought to Green Earth once before and Kanbei had his sword by his side.

The five were in a dimly lit unloading bay. The door had closed behind them automatically by now, and Sami heard several locking mechanisms seal them in. Hawke certainly took security seriously. The bay was quite small, as it was part of a long chain of small bays interconnected by a series of large metal double doors, all of which were locked and sealed by the same number of locks that had sealed the door behind them. Sami felt nervous. Security was tighter than even she had suspected it would be. The room was lit by an electric light set into the ceiling. The walls were all made of metal, except the wall leading into the complex, which was at least covered in plaster, although it was almost certainly reinforced beneath the decorative covering.

Sami, her rifle raised, gestured at the COs for them to follow her. She walked up to the door and ducked as she saw somebody move behind the doorway. She turned to the others and whispered,

"There are too many people walking about. I know that Adder can dismiss them, but somebody will get suspicious if too many people get sent away for various contrived reasons"

"Like it or not girl, there's no other way. Unless any of you happen to know the exact layout of the ventilation shafts in this building then we can't follow them, and we can't get to other levels except through the lifts"

"Is there no other way to change floors?" asked Sami

"No, the floors have reinforced steel between them to stop fires spreading. It's a necessary precaution when you've someone as reckless as Lash playing with her new toys in the building"

"Where are the lifts?" asked Eagle

"I don't know exactly"

"How did you escape precisely?"

"I took the lift up and escaped through one of the sewer systems. To think that I would be driven to go into such a foul place. My treatment has been appalling. Anyway, the lift that I took was on the far side of the building. I couldn't find my way there"

"If lifts are the only way to move between floors," said Sami, "then there must be a lift somewhere nearby. It will presumably be in a main corridor somewhere, but we'll never be able to sneak into one of them unnoticed"

"We need a diversion of some description" said Eagle, "Adder, we need something that will buy us some time, but not anything so remarkable that it might draw attention to us"

Adder was silent for a moment, then said,

"No, that won't work. Any diversion will give us away. We have to sneak in"

"That's clearly impossible" said Eagle

"No, it's quite possible, you fool. The kitchens are empty for now. We should be able to get through into the areas near the dining halls. The clones are taught to follow strict routines, so none of them will be eating now. From there, we'll be able to get into the storage areas. They'll be deserted while the men are at their posts as well. There won't be an elevator in the storerooms, but from there it should be easy to get very close to one. Unless of course you have a better idea"

Eagle nodded without speaking and, loosening his grip on the lead, gave Adder some freedom to move. He was suspicious. Adder had his plan of movement a little too well planned, and he was defending it too strongly.

As Sami pushed open the door, Eagle peered out briefly before ducking his head back to safety. Confident that the room was indeed empty now, the five COs crept out into the expansive kitchens. The huge room stretched into the distance in both directions. The entire room was spotless. Nothing was out on the rows of tiled surfaces. Bright white lights lit the room,

"Where is everyone?" asked Sami quietly, as they walked across the room following Adder

"Do pay attention. Everyone is a clone. Even chefs and labourers have certain genetic traits that make them good at their jobs, obviously. As they are not cooking, they will be in their quarters. They will all arrive at the same moment, cook in unison and then leave. They are absolutely efficient"

"What are they doing in their quarters?" asked Sami, who found the idea of the clone armies more distressing than any of the others did

"Nothing. They have not been instructed to do anything, so they will remain completely inactive until it is time for their duties to begin, they are given an order or it is time for other scheduled activities to keep them healthy"

"You give them exercise? Given everything else that happens here they must find that very entertaining"

"I used to fear that as well, but they do not have a sense of enjoyment; it is not a productive state of mind. Hawke realised very early on that all emotions in his clones were contrary to efficient progress. Anyway, the exercises are all monotonous, designed purely to maintain their strength. The only exceptions are the soldiers, who are regularly drilled"

Sami couldn't bring herself to try and answer. She felt sick. This was completely monstrous, but Adder didn't even seem able to comprehend any potential moral objection at all.

She was distracted as Adder walked up to a large metal door with a manual locking mechanism on their side,

"This is the entrance to the kitchen's storage area for foodstuffs that need to be kept chilled but not frozen. Every cool storage area on this floor of the base is part of a long chain of parallel identical rooms, connected by short ventilation shafts to keep air circulating. We can crawl through until we reach a storage area adjacent to a main corridor where we can run into a lift. It's risky, but it's our only chance"

Adder reached forwards to the locking mechanism, but was pulled back, nearly falling over at the same time, choking, by Eagle,

"Hang on just a second" he said, as, pulling the still gasping Adder behind him, he put his ear to the door. After a few seconds he was satisfied, "Now you can open the door Adder"

As Adder, a scowl on his face, opened the heavy door, he hissed at Eagle,

"Firstly, this is a reinforced metal door, as even you should have noticed, so it's soundproof. Secondly, if there was an armed ambush behind this door, do you honestly think it would be talking loudly?"

Eagle, ignoring the furious Adder, walked ahead, and silenced him with a sharp pull on the lead. The room was fairly small, but quite tall, and was filled with metal shelving units, all covered with assorted labelled boxes. Adder led them to the end of the room and showed them the gap just above the floor that he had mentioned. A gentle waft of air was coming through it silently.

The COs crawled through, although it took several threats of electric shocks to convince Adder to get down onto the floor and crawl through the tunnel. Several more tunnels followed before Adder pointed out that the door leading out of the room they were in had a warm yellow light, meaning that that corridor was a main hallway. Sami had to ask,

"Why a warm yellow light?"

"It creates a nice ambience"

"Your clones like a certain ambience?"

"No, but Hawke sometimes uses these hallways. He also insisted that there were plants on every corner"

Sami didn't reply. She had never thought of Hawke having such… human thoughts before. For such a cruel and purpose-driven monster to try and create a nice atmosphere to work in was bizarre.

Eagle looked through the crack at the edge of the wooden door that led into the hallway,

"Isn't security a bit lax here?"

"They assumed that nobody would ever get inside, but they never thought that I would try to break in. Anyway, security inside is quite tight. There are patrols circling the building. This is a central hallway, so several patrols will pass it sooner or later"

"That can't be helped. We just have to get to the left"

"Do try to think before you open your mouth. The lift won't just be waiting for us. We'll have to call it, and then wait for its arrival. I may be able to dismiss the odd one or two, but if whole patrols start going missing then Hawke might lockdown the base and order a full search of the building, just in case"

"What do you suggest then?"

"Let me go out there. My presence will go unnoticed, even if patrols do pass. I'll call the lift, then, as soon as the coast is clear, I'll signal for you to follow me"

"I do not like it," said Kanbei, "a samurai keeps his enemies close, and only trusts the counsel of his allies"

"And is it the way of the samurai to hide in cupboards while one of his allies is trapped in the very same building?"

"You better go doing exactly what you just said," warned Grit, drawing his revolver, "because I don't miss"

Adder nodded with his sickening smirk as always, before walking out of the door. Eagle kept the lead in hand for as long as possible, but sadly let it go as Adder walked away. The COs watched him closely through the slightly open door. He walked down the corridor and turned to face the lift. Pushing the button, the COs, watching him in profile, saw his hideously deformed back again.

Eagle stared intently. He didn't like this situation. He watched the normally calm Adder fidget on the spot slightly. A bead of sweat appeared on his forehead. Adder was exceedingly worried about the guards. But they had already seen that the Black Hole troops saluted him. Adder only ever got this scared when scared of dying. Eagle realised what was happening a moment too late. Just before any of them could do anything, Adder turned and sprinted down the corridor behind him, his panicked voice ringing through the quiet halls,

"Guards! Gu…"

Adder's cry for help ended prematurely, and was replaced by a quiet gruesome choking scream as Eagle used the remote shock collar that Adder had not counted on. The COs, left with no choice, burst out of the storage area, weapons drawn. They dashed down the corridor, which had fallen silent again, much to their relief, and turned the corner into the corridor that Adder had fled down. It was a dead-end, with two doors at the end of the short hallway.

Adder was slumped against the wall in the featureless corridor. His head was being thrown from side to side as his choked. His arms were twitching uncontrollably, as he tried to keep them straight to support himself. His legs had been seized by convulsions, and couldn't support him. The traitor was held by a prolonged spasm, in total agony.

As he reached Adder's pitiable form, Eagle released the button on the remote. Adder stopped shaking so violently, but still twitched and seemed unable to stand up. Eagle seized him by the collar and lifted him up, choking him again, and, dragging him down the remainder of the hallway as fast as possible, threw him at the doorway on the left. As Adder's trembling figure rolled when it hit the ground and knocked the unlocked door open, Eagle drew his handgun and charged into the room. It was a small and simple briefing room, an empty central area surrounded by plain and purely functional chairs. Eagle waved the other COs into the empty room quickly and closed the door behind them. He put his ear to the door.

Silence.

Adder's treachery may have gone unnoticed, but it would not be without punishment. As Sami and Grit, weapons raised at the door, prepared to fight off anyone that had heard anything, Eagle and Kanbei lifted Adder up onto one of the seats. He was barely conscious.

Adder opened his eyes and, unable to see properly, tried to get up. As he moved forwards, he felt a sharp blade against his neck. Panicking, he recoiled and looked around. Eagle was pointing a handgun at his head, and Kanbei was standing beside him, his sword drawn and held in front of his neck,

"I never trusted you" said Eagle quietly, "I suspected that this might happen, but for Jess' sake, I was willing to ignore my better judgement. Now, you're going to tell us the truth"

Eagle was interrupted by a shout from outside the room,

"Surrender"

Eagle strolled forwards and pressed his handgun against Adder's forehead,

"How many will there be?"

"They won't sound the alarm until they are certain that something is wrong. They will have heard me and gone through every room in the area, ordering a surrender, and then searching the room"

"Then it's lucky that we have a hostage"

Still being threatened by Kanbei's sword, Adder was pushed out of the room into the corridor, and the COs followed him, staying behind him. There were ten identical Black Hole soldiers at the end of the corridor. They raised their rifles, but seemed unsure what to do with Adder present. Eagle whispered into Adder's ear,

"Tell them that we are your guests, and that they should return to their stations"

Adder muttered something under his breath. Before Eagle could demand what he had just said, Adder was gone. Kanbei's sword swung through the empty air as it moved to execute him. A purple blur flew down the corridor.

Adder reappeared behind the troops, smirking arrogantly.


	13. True Colours

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Hey all, thanks again for your lovely reviews. Two small things have come to my attention on rereading the section. Firstly, have I overdone Adder's physical deformities? In all fairness to the most deformed man in the fic by miles, every AW character has a deformed back; that's just the way that Nintendo drew them. If I have offended any Adder fans, then I'm sorry. Also, Eagle's weapon strikes me as uninspiring. I would have him wielding something cooler, but I don't know what, since, unless I've forgotten something, Eagle has never been pictured armed in the games. If anyone has any better ideas than the present boring handgun, please mention it in a review and I will happily change it. Anyway, read, enjoy, REVIEW, got the idea yet? Cheers, Foulds

Adder, his injuries having presumably been exaggerated before to buy him time, leaned carelessly against the closed lift doors, almost certainly purposefully mocking the fact that they were so close to the elevator. He was sneering arrogantly at the COs now, mocking them for their trust. Adder, it seemed, had won. He was only so confident while faced with the still armed COs as the Black Hole soldiers had formed a human shield in front of him, and they, already with weapons poised, could have killed the COs before they could fire.

Adder had arrived in Orange Star, convinced them all of his good intentions, and led four of the most able COs they had straight into Hawke's own base. The soldiers were more certain of their course of action now, and were confidently aiming at the COs.

Grit, his revolver still loosely at his side, glanced at Sami. She shook her head, and slowly put her rifle to the floor. Grit followed her lead and casually bent down and put his weapon on the ground. Kanbei had also sheathed his sword.

They wouldn't win in a straight battle. They might have been able to kill Adder, but then they would certainly die, and it was their duty to try and get back to Orange Star; their skills would be needed by the alliance yet. If they were captured then at least they would have the chance to escape later. Today, Sami acknowledged that the victory was Adder's.

Eagle, however, wasn't defeated yet. He had one last ace up his sleeve. Adder was a coward and a schemer, and Eagle planned to manipulate it,

"Adder, call off your guards at once" he said as he pulled the remote for Adder's shock collar from his pocket again

"Turn that thing on again and the guards will fire"

"You wouldn't dare. We're the only bargaining chips that you have to get back in Hawke's good books. You need us alive" said Eagle with his best confident-sounding voice to disguise his uncertainty and terror.

"Ah" said Adder, looking much calmer than Eagle, "Silly me! I forgot to mention something in Orange Star. Hawke's orders were to bring him COs, but, though I captured Jess alive, that was just a preference of Hawke's. You are very valuable to me, even if you are dead"

"You're bluffing"

"Fine, draw your weapon, prince of the skies, or maybe you want to shock me, if you are so confident. We shall see which of us two is full of bluster"

Eagle wasn't in a position to take such risks. He had one last hope. He might be wrong, but he had to try it,

"You might as well send away these guards now, Adder"

"And why might that be?"

"You're hiding behind them like they are your bodyguard. Those aren't your guards. They are Hawke's troops. Face it, you are as trapped as we are. You can turn us over, and those guards that you are hiding behind will take us to the cells, but you'll be joining us"

"No!" yelled Adder, clearly disturbed by the idea, "When Hawke sees what I have done, I will be reinstated!"

Eagle smiled to himself. He had guessed correctly. Adder really had been discarded by Hawke. This must be his attempt to get back into favour with him.

"All that effort you used to escape, and now you're going to hand yourself back over to Hawke" taunted Eagle

"Silence"

"I bet you'll end up in the very same cell"

Adder closed his eyes and started shaking,

"No… no… not again…"

"Even if he were to take you back, then you'll be thrown out again as soon as the White Sun is ready"

Adder didn't reply

"You know that he isn't a forgiving man. You said that yourself. He would never stand for incompetence. If you are found here, then you'll die with us. If you help us, then you go back to your safe haven in Orange Star"

Adder again couldn't respond.

"What would Hawke do in your position?"

"Where there is life," said Adder more calmly, "there is opportunity. That is most true…" he turned to the guards, "All of you, return to your quarters immediately. Lock the door behind you and don't leave under any circumstances, do you understand?"

"Yes sir" came the easily anticipated synchronised response, as the men ran off.

Adder stood perfectly still, completely despondent and baffled. He had no idea what he should do from now on. He could have handed them over. He might have been locked away, but what did that matter? Adder was torn between the two great forces in his life; fear and respect for Hawke and self-interest.

Adder wasn't given the opportunity to resolve his conflict as Eagle and Kanbei charged at him and, seizing an arm each, dragged him back to the room they had been in before. Adder put up no resistance. He was thrown back into the same seat as before and the sword was put back against his neck. Eagle began to speak as all four COs pointed their weapons at him,

"Firstly, you're going to tell us how much of what you said to us in Orange Star was true"

"Everything I've told you is true" replied Adder, speaking quickly and breathing shallowly

"Except for the part where you led us into an ambush"

"There was no ambush! If that was prearranged, don't you think I'd have betrayed you somewhere with a few more guards? The idea only just came to me now"

"What idea? What were you planning?"

"When I came to you in the first place, I meant everything that I said. I truly did come to you to flee from Hawke"

"If Hawke locked you away and discarded you, why would you betray us in a situation where you would be recaptured as well?"

"What I said about Jess is all true. We were ordered to capture COs. I thought that if I could deliver you four to him then he would forgive me"

"If that was your plan, why did you refuse to come with us when I told you what we doing in Orange Star?"

"That wasn't my plan. I saw my opportunity and took it just now. I didn't want to come here because I knew that I wouldn't be able to resist betraying you, but if I had told you that in Orange Star then you would have killed me"

Kanbei's sword drew closer to Adder's neck as Eagle continued,

"Why did you think that you wouldn't be able to resist betraying us? What do you mean?"

"It's Hawke. He has power beyond what you know. Flak, Lash and I, we can all feel it. We can't defy him. I knew that once we were in Green Earth there would be a perfect opportunity to betray you all, and… I didn't want to! I couldn't help it!"

"He is still loyal to Hawke. He can't be trusted, so we must kill him now" demanded Kanbei

"No!" yelled Adder

"Why shouldn't we kill you?" said Eagle, "You've proved that you can't be trusted"

"You do remember that I just sent away the guards?"

"I also recall that you were the one that called them"

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. I tried to fight the urge, but I just kept thinking about Hawke's orders and I couldn't help myself. I had to betray you. If you had ever served under him then you would understand. A great leader inspires such loyalty in his troops that you would rather die than disobey him, but I wouldn't expect the likes of you to understand that"

"I don't care about your loyalties. You tried to betray us. I won't give you the opportunity to do so again"

"I may have been seeking Hawke's forgiveness, but… you are right. I know that he would kill me anyway. I won't betray you again"

"How much do you think a promise from you is worth to me. I know that you are only trying to pacify us because you fear death"

"That is true. But, what does that matter to you?" exclaimed Adder, "I didn't come here to betray you. I'm a quick thinking opportunistic man. I act as I see fit, in whatever way will keep me alive. I don't deny it; if you give me another chance to betray you, then I will probably do so. But the fact is that you don't have the luxury of being able to kill me out of moral outrage. You need me alive"

"We can't trust you"

"Keep me on a lead and at sword point for the whole time. You know as well as I do that I won't betray you unless my own safety is guaranteed"

"Why are you still loyal to him? He has disposed of you already. You know it as well as I do, if he locked you away for no reason, then he's hardly going to release you for performing a duty that he didn't ask you to do" said Eagle, still wanting an answer to his earlier point.

"What does that matter to you!" Adder snapped back, "You will have that girl back. She is where I said she would be. Now, that patrol will be missed before long. We have to hurry"

"Very well, but you will not be let out of my sword's reach again" said Kanbei, pulling Adder up and pushing him towards the door. Kanbei now took the position just behind Adder, with his right arm and sword held just in front of his neck

The COs walked to the end of the empty hallway and pressed the button to call the lift. It was still waiting from Adder calling it before. They stepped into the lift, and Sami said to Adder,

"Which floor are the cells on?"

"The very bottom floor. Hawke's laboratories"

"Why not the prison complex, with other prisoners?"

"Naturally, he realised that I would easily escape from a conventional prison, so he put me in the most secure area. I can't imagine why he locked that girl away in that place as well"

"What will the security be like in the labs?"

"That's the easy part. There are no troops down there at all"

"Why?"

"Hawke feared that an accidental burst of fire might damage something, so he banned all troops from the area. There are guard posts on the perimeter to react to any security breaches, but they aren't allowed to patrol"

"What's down there that Hawke values so dearly?"

"Unsurprisingly I didn't bother to check while trying to escape with my life"

"The area doesn't sound very secure"

"Wait and see" said Adder with a sneer as he pushed the button to take them to the bottom floor. A plain voice came from somewhere,

"Good afternoon Commander Hawke, please enter laboratory access codes"

Adder began typing a very long and complicated code into a keypad that had just emerged from behind a panel,

"There are two golden rules if you want to get ahead in Black Hole. The first is to know more than you're supposed to know. The second is to make sure nobody else knows how much you know. How do you think I found out all about the White Sun?"

As Adder pressed a green button beneath the keypad, it slipped away back behind the panel and the lift quietly descended as Adder leaned against the wall of the lift, looking very pleased with himself.

After a short while, the lift came to a gentle stop and the doors slid open. The COs drew their weapons again and peered out of the lift. Seeing that the area was indeed deserted, they proceeded, with Adder still uneasily close to Kanbei's blade. Eagle looked around. The corridor they were in was well lit by a large numbers of lights. The floor, walls and ceiling were all made out of a dull silver metal. Many black pipes lined the walls. At various points along the wall there were small computer screens with pressure measurements, temperature readings and numbers that Eagle didn't understand the meaning of. He turned to Adder,

"All of this has nothing to do with Lash?"

"No, she isn't allowed down here, although she has begged him to let her use this equipment many times"

"Where do we have to go?"

"This way" said Adder, pointing to his right, "It leads to the area that I was in"

Adder set off with Kanbei right behind him as ever, and they made their way down the corridor. After a short while, they passed under a large metallic arch and entered a vast room, filled with enormous tanks, huge computers and various technical looking things that Eagle couldn't guess the purpose of.

As they walked through the lab, Eagle's hand shot out in front of Kanbei and Adder, stopping them. Sami and Grit looked at Eagle and also stopped. He listened intently and thought he heard something again. The pipes rumbled quietly and the computers whirred softly, but Eagle was sure that he had heard something else. He crept forwards and the other COs followed.

Eagle could see that one of the smaller corridors leading out of the labs was quite dark, but was being lit by a dull glow from around a corner. He could have sworn that there was a faint human voice coming from around the corner. He couldn't make out anything about it. He turned to Adder and whispered,

"Soldiers?"

"Clones don't socialise. They don't speak at all unless it's absolutely necessary" hissed Adder

"Stay here" whispered Eagle as he crept into the darkened corridor. He pressed himself against the wall and gradually walked down the corridor, treading as softly as possible. He finally reached the corridor, but still couldn't make out what the man's voice was, he now realised, repeating over and over.

Eagle took a deep breath, and slowly peaked his head around the corner. Within a fraction of a second he pulled himself back around the corner and focussed all his energy on not breathing too loudly or running away.

Just around that corner, terrifying and fearless, was Hawke.


	14. Birds of Prey

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Dear all, thanks for more agreeable reviews, y'all (yes, I have officially begun talking like Grit. I love his accent, even though I don't know what it is). Anyway, there will shortly be an original character arriving in this fic! He is not based on me, promise! He won't have a huge role, and will only show up a few times and then get mentioned from then on, unless he proves popular, then he might show up a few more times. Anyway, if anyone objects hugely to an original character being thrown into the AW mix, then mention it in a review and I'll think about removing him from my plans. If not, then roll on the new guy! Anyway, I'll now allow y'all to read, enjoy and REVEW! Cheers, Foulds

Eagle was involuntarily frozen to the spot. He tried to take deep breaths, and still stay quiet. The other COs looked on and, although they couldn't be sure what Eagle had seen, they had a reasonably good idea what was around the corner.

Hawke had that effect on people. He was a very tall man, and very daunting and imposing. He had an air of unquestionable authority about him, as Adder had said. Eagle hadn't felt the sensation since the second invasion, when he had seen Hawke close up and in person during the final battle, and he had forgotten how intense it was.

Hawke inspired sheer terror in his enemies through his mere presence, and absolute fanatical devotion from his allies. He rarely spoke sentences of more than a few words, mainly because he didn't need to. His eyes appeared to be black. He commanded a piercing stare, capable of silencing entire rooms on its own.

The very way he stood and dressed aided the impression of fearless pre-eminence. He seemed to have chosen his outfit to appear as inhuman as possible. He kept gloves on at all times to cover his hands, which Eagle had never seen. He kept the collar of his coat up continually to keep his neck hidden. He covered his whole body with black clothes, as if trying to prove that he was not a man of flesh, but the very embodiment of Black Hole.

He was easily recognised by his notorious long coat. It was featureless, but menacing and dark, as if trying to emulate Hawke himself. He used it to cover his unusually square shoulders, his chest, his arms and his legs. The effect was that as he walked along, you couldn't see him walking, you just saw his composed face and long coat floating towards you. Hawke moved with a purposeful dignity, resembling an ethereal figure, detached from everyone else in the world.

If you didn't fear Hawke as a person, then you hadn't met him, but you would still fear him as a Commanding Officer. He had single-handedly pushed Green Earth to the point of destruction in the second invasion. Eagle and his comrades had pushed him back, but they could all see that he was stronger. Hawke was Eagle's match in the air, Drake's equal on the sea and Jess' equivalent in any ground battle. Hawke could take on anybody in their specialist field and prove a worthy adversary.

Another factor that had always unnerved Eagle personally was his very name. Hawke. Like the name Eagle, it was hardly common. Eagle had once thought that it wasn't his real name, but just an assumed one, chosen purely to symbolically challenge Eagle's superiority in the skies. He had cast such thoughts from his mind long ago, but it still troubled him. Why would Hawke have been named that at birth? Such thoughts had always led Eagle back to another question he had never asked out loud; why had his father called him Eagle?

Then there was Black Wave. Unquestionably the most fearsome CO power that existed now that Sturm was dead. Eagle could remember the first time he had seen it, and the memory made him break out in a cold sweat.

He had taken a huge airforce to crush a sea fortress in the south of Green Earth. His fighters had got the upper hand against Hawke's, and his bombers, taking light hits from the mini cannons, were tearing the fortress apart. Eagle hadn't been at the front lines, but slightly behind them in a T-copter. He had seen a tiny black mark appear on the roof, seemingly wreathed in shadow. He had seen that it was a man, and the man had stayed on the roof as the bombers attacked the very same building.

Then the Black Wave came.

Hawke had been given the chance to charge his CO power, as he hadn't more recently in Blue Moon, and the result had been devastating. Huge tendrils of black shadow had spiralled from the top of the building, followed by an explosion of darkness that nothing could escape from. Eagle remembered that it had looked like a twisted sunrise, as a black sphere, unaccountably casting shadows into empty air, rose into the skies on the horizon. The wave had torn fighters and B-copters out of the sky, pounding bombers viciously. Even more markedly, the wave looked like it was healing crippled Black Hole units. The memory was horrific, and the thought of a massively amplified version being launched through the White Sun was unimaginable.

For a Commander Officer to use their natural abilities to command armies well and destroy the enemy was, if not natural and right, then at least the way that things were. That a single man could posses such power and personally bring about such destruction, just like Sturm had before him, was perverse, unnatural, and, ultimately, evil.

With all these thoughts running through his mind in a blind panic, Eagle forced himself to be calm. He was quite certain that Hawke hadn't seen him. Hawke had been distracted by something, as his piercing cold eyes had been shut. He had been kneeling, as Eagle had never seen him before. What did the most powerful Commanding Officer and most fearsome man in the world kneel before? Eagle held his breath for a moment and tried to hear what Hawke was still repeating. He could just make out the muttered words drifting through the silent corridor,

"Father, Creator, forgive me my sins, your bidding will be done"

Eagle stood completely still, and, not trusting his ears, listened to the words of Hawke again. Eagle had been taken completely off guard. Was Hawke religious? What gods did the Black Hole nation worship?

Eagle had a grudging respect for Hawke. He acknowledged his positive attributes, even if they were massively outweighed by his negative ones. Eagle and Hawke were both strong-willed, confident and daring. But Eagle would never have foreseen this. Eagle himself wasn't religious. A childhood spent largely alone had taught him to rely on himself, spurning luck and fate. He would have thought that a powerful leader like Hawke wouldn't be relying on divine favour for his strength.

Eagle was, while still fearful, intrigued by this turn of events. He knew that he should turn back now and get Adder to show them another way round to the cells, but this was too enticing. Hawke had always been the most mysterious CO of Black Hole. Even Adder seemed to know very little about him really. He had no friends to speak of. Nobody knew what he really thought about as he rarely spoke at all. Nobody knew what drove him. Eagle had a determined curiosity about what was happening around the corner. This was a chance to see what Hawke thought about when not on the battlefield. Eagle had to watch.

He gradually peered around the corner again. At the end of a short corridor was the end of a small room. Hawke was kneeling in front of a long piece of metal equipment that was about half the height of a man, but was quite long, which Eagle couldn't see the purpose of. The room looked like it was completely unlit, except for a single fairly bright light with a bluish hue, which was rising up out of whatever Hawke had got down on his knees for. Other than that the room looked completely plain.

Eagle was surprised at how human Hawke seemed. The invincible and formidable Hawke was suddenly looking so off-guard, lost and vulnerable. Eagle didn't know what to think when he was certain that he saw a single tear fall from Hawke's not-quite composed face.

Hawke was completely motionless, except for his endless repetition of the same phrase. There was a sudden change in Hawke's position, which made Eagle recoil slightly but keep his gaze trained firmly on him. Hawke pulled a short combat knife from the inside of his coat. He pulled a few grey hairs outwards, and cut them off with the knife. He held the lock of hair for a moment and said,

"For you, my lord"

After another moment's pause, he let the lock of hair fall down onto the floor and, having slowly taken off one of his gloves, holding his empty and naked left hand in front of him, slit his own palm open and watched the gash bleed. Eagle could see that his hand was gruesomely scarred with countless black wounds and lesions. This must have been a morbid tradition. Hawke, his face showing no sign of pain, flicked his hand out, letting a fine spray of blood splash against the side of the metal object in front of him. He casually replaced his glove and, standing up, turned around and walked away.

Eagle remained still until he heard a door open and close again, before, even then, walking as quietly as possible back to the others, looking back over his shoulder several times. Sami said simply,

"Was it him?"

"Yes"

"What happened?"

"I think you should see for yourself"

"This is a very bad idea!" exclaimed Adder, "Hawke takes his privacy very seriously! He'll kill us all if he finds out we've been here!"

"If he knows that we're in this base at all then we're all dead anyway" Eagle reminded Adder

They all slowly moved through the corridor, except for Adder, but he had little choice, and, with Eagle leading, they approached the dim room. Adder had been allowed out of Kanbei's grip since both of them saw that it was stopping them moving freely, and so Adder was being restrained solely by the lead that Kanbei now held very tightly, remembering what had happened the last time Eagle had released Adder for a moment.

Eagle entered the room and walked up to the metal object that Hawke had shown such reverence to. As he drew near it, he could see that it had a glass top, out of which the pale blue light was glowing. Eagle felt a sense of trepidation as he came closer to the mysterious item, cautiously stepping onwards as the others stayed by the door, looking around the area. He came right up to object, his head kept high, feigning interest in the wall behind it, too uneasy to look down. He breathed deeply and lowered his gaze, before flinching and stumbling backwards, feeling ill.

The others stepped back slightly and stayed silent. Eagle steeled himself and moved forwards again, looking at the ghastly, shocking and vile entity in front of him.

Inside the glass topped case was what looked like it might once have been a human body. The base of the container was veiled by a thin swirling mist, suggesting that Hawke was preserving the body. The thing was hideous. The arms and legs were both far too short, as if they had been hacked off at the elbows and knees. The stumps were covered in dark bruises and gaping cuts that had long since healed into new deformed shapes. The chest looked like it had been completely burnt, red and black scar tissue the only thing left, with a large depression that looked like it had been caused by a powerful single blow. The face was hidden by a thick black veil that had been placed over it. Whether it was there out of disgust for the deformities it was hiding or respect for the dead Eagle didn't know. What was this hideous creature?

Eagle thought back; Hawke's lord…

Sturm.

It had to be Sturm.

This was what he looked like under the armour he had always worn.

The burns, which the White Sun people had given him.

The dent in his chest, where Hawke had hit him with Black Wave.

Eagle looked down at the nearest edge of the container. Hawke had set up a shrine of sorts. The floor was littered with locks of hair, offerings to Hawke's dead lord, even though he was the one that had killed him. A crest showing the Black Hole emblem was on the front of the storage tank, stained by streaks and smears of Hawke's own blood. Eagle bent down and looked at the most recent daub of blood. He shrank back from it as he realised that what he had seen wasn't just because of the dim room. The stains of blood, if that is what it was, were all black. Eagle turned to the others as they began to creep into the room,

"Sturm's remains. Hawke seems to be loyal to them"

Adder tried to scramble back out of the door while the collar held him fast as he began to utter,

"My lord? My lord is here?"

Before Kanbei could pull him back into the room, he began to walk towards the container, his eyes firmly shut. Without opening his eyes he fell to the ground and groaned through his sobs,

"Forgive me my lord, I never knew you were here"

Adder then got up, eyes still closed, and, breathing heavily, looked down. With a barely audible cry he turned and sprinted away. The collar held fast and the impact choked him and threw him to the floor. He made no effort to get back up but curled up and murmured,

"Hawke… what have you done…"

Kanbei, about to pull Adder up, was stopped by Eagle, who knelt next to Adder,

"Adder, could Sturm still be alive?"

"What do you think?" yelled Adder angrily, "He can't survive outside his suit"

"What is the container for?"

"To preserve the body and stop decay, I suppose"

"Why would Hawke keep him here like this?"

"I don't know! I didn't know about this, or I would have stopped it, I promise you my lord, you would have been buried, as should have been…"

"Is that a Black Hole tradition?"

"It is the duty of the Black Hole lord to show due respect for his predecessor, and so give him the correct funeral rites. Our lord has been trapped like this? Why would Hawke do this!"

"Adder…" said Eagle sympathetically, as he knew how he felt in a way. He had been forced to accept the deaths of those closest to him without having bodies to bury very recently. The lack of bodies made it hard to let go. It was a sensation that he had in fact known throughout his life.

"We must take him with us! He must be buried!"

"Adder!" snapped Eagle, "We won't escape with his body; it will be hard enough as it is. When this is over, Sturm will be buried. For now, we have to move on, get Jess and escape, you said yourself that those guards will be missed"

Adder was silently coaxed to his feet with the lead,

"Where are the cells?" asked Eagle

"Back this way" replied Adder, as he solemnly led them back the way they had come. They walked through the quiet laboratories without a word and followed Adder's lead without question. He was a broken man, and trickery was the last thing on his mind. He was horrified. The idea that a lord of Black Hole would show such twisted disrespect to his former master was unthinkable. It answered a question that Adder had silently harboured in his mind for a long time; if the whole of the Black Hole nation looked for leadership in one man, where did that man look for guidance? It seemed that the answer was in the cold body of a master that he had murdered.

Within a few minutes, the COs arrived in a large room. Adder, seemingly having been in a daze for the journey suddenly jumped back the moment he entered,

"Adder, what is it?" asked Sami

"Here! This is where it all happened! Right in here!"

"Adder, what are you talking about?"

"The table there… I can't go in…"

Kanbei was about to pull him in, suspecting another trick, but Sami gestured at him to stop, and walked ahead into the room herself. There was a large metal slab in the centre of the room. It was surrounded by machines, and bright lights were focussed on it. It looked like a surgical theatre, but the cold metal table was covered in restraints for every part of the body. With anxious dread, Sami and Eagle approached the metal slab.

The tough black shackles looked slightly worn, like there had been great resistance put against them many times. Dark red stains marked the table and the floor around it. A small scalpel, still wet with freshly drawn red blood, sat on a small tray beside the slab. Eagle, his eyes wide, walked around the slab and saw a single fine item that made him feel dizzy and furious.

A single red hair.

Jess' hair.

Eagle sprinted back to Adder and, seizing the lead off Kanbei, pulled the collar tight,

"Where are the cells?"

"Just past this room… go on, I can't go in there… not again… please"

"I know you can't be trusted" said Eagle coldly, dragging Adder across the smooth metal floor on his knees as he protested, lashed out at Eagle with pitiful strength and buried his eyes in his clothes, shaking his head madly. As they passed through the room and entered a small chamber beyond it, Eagle saw that there were locked doors on either side of him. Throwing Adder aside, he ran between each door, looking through the small window in each. Despairing, he came to the final door at the back of the room, and looking through the window, he gasped, filled with terror.

Jess was lying in there, strewn across the floor, her face bruised, totally motionless, deathly pale. She didn't look like she was breathing.

Eagle ran back over to Adder, who was standing up and recovering from the traumatising agonies he had been forced to suffer today. Grasping the lead once more, he pulled the stumbling Adder to the door and demanded him to open it. Adder moved forwards to a small keypad in the wall, and began to enter a long code.

Jess was in there. She must be alive. Eagle could think of nothing else. As Adder continued to enter the long code, Eagle, each new number in the code mocking him, desperate to get Jess free now, drew his hand gun and pointed it at Adder's head.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the keypad beeped in acknowledgement and the sound of heavy metal locks opening came from the door. Eagle and the others pulled the robust door open and charged inside, pulling Adder behind them.

The four fell to the ground around Jess. Her skin was as white as Adder's. Eagle put a hand to her wrist. She was quite cold and he could find no pulse. Sami turned away silently as Eagle kept trying to find a pulse. He had come all this way. She had to be alive. She couldn't be dead. Jess couldn't be dead.

Eagle picked up her limp arm. Feeling its cold touch against his cheek, he let it fall back to the ground and he turned his gaze to the floor. Grit settled down next to her. He casually put a finger against her neck. He waited for a moment as the others looked at him,

"She ain't quite dead yet"

"What?" demanded Eagle, tears of grief and joy now mixed

"Her pulse is far too slow and her breathing's too shallow, but she's alive, for now at least, but we've got to get her out of here now. She's lost a lot of blood; that'll be why she's cold and pale"

Eagle picked her up in his arms,

"Hang on Jess, just a little longer"

Sami breathed a sigh of relief,

"Ok, we've got Jess and she's alive, now we just have to escape. There are medical supplies in the T-copter. We haven't been stopped yet, so it shouldn't be too hard to get out" she said as they set off to retrace their steps

Little did Sami realise that things weren't going to be that easy. In a darkened room somewhere in the base, a little girl was watching computer screens with the COs on them from several angles. The girl giggled disturbingly and with a creepy air. She had been watching the protagonists in her little game for a few minutes now,

"Oh Adder, coming back here? You're so silly!" she said to herself. The girl picked up a small radio next to her,

"Hello Hawke, ohhh, guess what?"

"If you were not indispensable to me then these games would have cost your life long ago" came the response

"Oh, you're just a spoilsport. Adder's back, just like you said"

"And Eagle?"

"Yep, all the ones that you said would be here are with him"

"How predictable. Where are they?"

"Right on the bottom floor in your laboratories, they just freed that girl"

"Most impressive"

"Can I try out my new toys on them?"

"No, send guards"

"Is it alright if any of them get broken while they're being captured?"

"I want them alive"

"Y'know, they are all armed. If they got this far then that could be tricky"

"Eagle must be alive. The others are expendable"

"Are you completely sure that guards alone can handle this?"

"I will be there personally"

"They must have got here by the same T-copter that Adder escaped in. Do you me to take care of that?"

"Get every craft in the airfield into a hangar, then lockdown the airport"

"Isn't that a little extreme? They are trapped on the bottom floor"

"Eagle is with them. I will take no risks"

"Well, fine, I'll deal with everything from here, and you go and have some fun. I'll be watching!"

The girl giggled again as she relayed this information to the guard posts on the bottom floor and the troops stationed in the airport. She watched the COs on her screen. They spun around as the alarms went off. Lash knew that this rescue had been Sonja's idea. So, Sonja had decided to match wits with her again. She was so silly.

Lash chuckled again. War was such a fun game, and this was her favourite part.

Five pieces were about to be taken.


	15. Trapped

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Dear all, thanks again for yet more reviews, thus proving to me that I'm using study leave productively. Because of imminent A2 exams, chapters may be coming more slowly from now on, so sorry about that in advance, that and I might spend a few days crying because Advance Wars 3 wasn't unveiled at E3. I hope to maybe produce a chapter every four or five days from now on, but in all fairness they are all fairly long, so I might just cut chapters into smaller sections and get them out more quickly, so which would you prefer? As another note, thanks to Jen for helping with Adder's characterisation, because I haven't credited her before, and thanks to Victory March for coming up with Eagle epithets for me. Read, Enjoy, REVIEW, always Review, then Review again, because it makes me feel good about myself. Cheers, Foulds.

The COs looked around frantically as the sirens sounded and the silver labs were abruptly drenched in periodic flashes of red light. Eagle, drawing his handgun, said flatly,

"We'll have to fight our way out. Adder, are we trapped?"

"The elevators will be locked down, but the blast doors would only close in the event of a fire or chemical leak. But the guards will be coming now"

"We've got to keep moving. If we get pinned down then we're as good as dead"

With weapons drawn, Jess in Eagle's arms and Adder collared, the COs ran back the way they had come, lacking any plan, but hoping in vain that the lift might still be working, mainly because they had no other hope of escape. Eagle, dashing through the laboratories, heard the synchronised footsteps of well drilled infantry units clattering over the metal floors in corridors around him.

The COs were forced to keep varying their course, as the way they had intended to go was always filled with the din of advancing troops. In less than a minute, all hopes of reaching the lift had been abandoned as the COs found themselves disoriented and cornered.

As they ran through the complex web of identical silver hallways, certain that guards were behind them, always being slowed down by Eagle, who was still carrying Jess, they ducked into a small side room, and froze. The heard soldiers run past, and then there was silence.

Eagle whispered to Adder,

"What's our best chance now?"

"The whole base will be locked down. Even if the lifts are working then the exits will be locked"

"Is there any exit?"

"Possibly. Lash's weapon testing hangars all have access to the outside for field-testing. Most of the doors can be manually opened. If there's any chance of escape, then it will be there"

"Is there any way up except through the lifts?"

"Yes"

"I thought there were layers of steel between each floor" said Sami

"That is true, but, like in the case of the lift shafts, there are holes where it is necessary. In case you had forgotten, these lower floors are underground, so there are large ventilation shafts that lead right up to the surface. They should have some method of moving up and down them for maintenance purposes. One of them passes next to the hangars. We can get out through the appropriate exit, but first we need to get to the shaft"

"Where is it?"

"Not too far from here. If you hadn't been running around randomly, then we would probably already be in it. I think I can lead you to it"

"We have to run for it. More guards will be arriving every second"

Eagle, carefully draping Jess over his shoulder, drew his handgun with his free hand. They charged out from their hiding place without a word. The four ran round to the left, dragging Adder, who was clearly not used to having to run for his life, behind them, who was shouting directions between bouts of condemning them for their lack of discretion in their present plan.

They rounded another corner and, with the sirens still blaring, all of them breathing heavily, their own footsteps, and many more, echoing through the cavernous halls, they were faced with what they had feared. Black Hole soldiers were drawn up in the corridor, thoroughly still, helmets gleaming, rifles raised,

"Surrender immed…"

Eagle didn't let them finish. The COs, throwing themselves to the walls, fired at the troops. Flashes of light streaked down the pristine metal walkways as the clatter of rifle fire drowned out everything else. Bullets ricocheted off the walls, and Adder cowered as screams of agony were raised and then silenced.

Sami led the strongest resistance, her rifle mowing down the Black Hole soldiers and the reinforcements that followed them. She fired without indecision, and picked off whole lines of soldiers as they returned imprecise fire. Grit and Eagle just supported her, as Grit precisely picked off those that Sami missed, knocking them back with his powerful revolver, taking every life with a single bullet to the very centre of the chest. Eagle fired more randomly, while Kanbei, guns being too close to technology for his tastes, watched their backs while acting as an unwilling human shield for Adder.

As the last of the Black Hole soldiers collapsed, overcome by the strength of the formidable COs, the five began to move forwards again, but more cautiously, as distant clatter gave away the arrival of more of the endless stream of troops. Charging down the corridor, meeting no resistance, Eagle slowed and stopped for a moment, and the others did the same, looking around, confused.

The alarms had all just stopped.

Eagle listened intently. The sound of charging soldiers was getting fainter, as if they were retreating. Within seconds, the corridors were silent again. It was just as if they had never been there, except for the lifeless bodies left strewn behind them. Eagle, silent, led them on slowly. Why would Black Hole leave them alone? It was hardly as if they had inflicted terrible losses on Hawke. A few clones were nothing to Black Hole. As they entered an ominously large and empty laboratory, Adder whispered,

"The ventilation shaft is not far past here" Adder pointed down a corridor leading out of the lab as he spoke.

The COs ran nervously through the lab, expecting an armed ambush around the corner. It was not impossible that Black Hole could have figured out what they were planning; they were rather short on options. The COs pressed themselves against the wall just before the corner. Grit casually slotted a few more bullets into his revolver and Sami slipped a fresh clip into her rifle. On Eagle's signal, the four leapt out with weapons primed and raised.

The corridor was almost empty, but they would have preferred to take on the whole Black Hole clone army rather than encounter what they were faced with.

At the end of the corridor, completely unarmed, unfazed by their presence, matching their weapons with an intense stare, completely still, was Hawke.

He looked at them, a hint of curiosity mixed with amusement faintly visible on his face. The COs kept their weapons raised, but, frozen with fear, couldn't fire. Hawke, simply by not moving, paralysed the four COs. With no warning and no change in facial expression, he calmly began strolling towards them, clearly in no hurry. He moved effortlessly and with dignified elegance, drifting towards them, his boots making sharp knocks against the ground, a sound that Grit remembered and feared.

Sami, hands shaking, sweat slithering down her face, held her rifle forwards, gripping it more tightly and, almost inadvertently, pulled the trigger, a tiny click that echoed in the silent hallway.

The thunderous flood of noise shook the COs out of their petrified disbelief and they leapt into action. Sami, having never encountered Hawke in battle before, bathed the area with explosive noise, flashes of light and a spray of swiftly flying bullets, unaware of the futility of her actions. Eagle too fired randomly at the steadily approaching Hawke.

Hawke, unmindful of the storm of bullets, which were not even an annoyance to him, prowled ever closer. Not at all provoked, he moved ever onwards. Just as Grit could recall explicitly, Hawke raised a single gloved hand, in the centre of which a glistening black ball appeared. His hand darted impossibly quickly in front of him, matching the pace of every gunshot. Bullets flew past him, scarcely missing him, but he didn't acknowledge them, not at all disconcerted.

Hawke unexpectedly changed his tactics, and, while still walking, yelled through the corridor, his voice somehow easily heard over the continuous racket of discharging weapons,

"Eagle, join me"

Eagle, only pausing for a second, dismissed his curiosity, and continued firing. Why would Hawke want him over the others?

"Adder, seize him"

Adder, who had been cowering on floor in an attempt to keep behind Eagle while bowing out of respect for Hawke, while at the same time trying to avoid strangling himself, looked up in a fit of frenzied agitation. On this order, he immediately leapt up and struck at Eagle from behind with a severe lack of strength, perhaps his first attempt at violence given his spineless temperament. Eagle, mildly annoyed, swung his arm that carried the weapon behind him for a moment, hitting Adder in the stomach with a fierce blow from his elbow. The gasping and pained Adder fell to his knees and decided against attempting to seize Eagle again.

Meanwhile, Grit, keeping control of his fear and anger, watched Hawke walk ever onwards, totally confident in his invincibility. He was getting closer, and not a single bullet out of a constant hail of fire was touching him. Grit looked at him. He wasn't catching every bullet. Some were hitting him; there were tiny holes in his coat, black liquid slowly seeping from his chest. Whether he felt no pain, or was just indifferent to a punctured ribcage, Grit didn't know, but he did know that Hawke wasn't going down, even if you could shoot him.

The man was getting closer. Then things got much worse. Grit saw the tiny black orb in his palm begin to quiver. As Sami released a deluge of brave but empty and hollow attacks, the ball in Hawke's hand grew and started to shake violently. Grit knew this all too well. Black Wave. He had to think. The unstoppable blast was seconds away.

What had Adder said about the laboratories?

Grit smiled. He raised his renowned revolver, a single bullet in the chamber. The unerring gunslinger, who never took aim at the wrong target twice, raised his weapon coolly, while breathing deeply. The revolver's target was not Hawke, and Grit swung the sights to the right. One bullet was all he needed. The single roaring blast drowned out everything else. The bullet flew forwards, and smashed into a black pipe, running along the wall of the corridor.

A plume of grey smoke erupted from the fractured pipeline, taking Hawke by surprise, although his hands kept moving as if without his intervention. A siren went off instantly, and the blast doors, at the far end of the corridor and right in front of the COs, slammed together, sealing off the chemical leak, and trapping Hawke inside his own laboratory.

Adder, scrambling to his feet, adopted a confident victory pose as the thick black doors slammed together, and, with a contemptuous sneer, self-assuredly declared,

"That will hold him. Those doors were Lash's own design. They're the most sturdy barricades that have ever…"

Adder wasn't allowed to finish his smug victory speech, as the most robust bulwark in existence groaned and warped and buckled, only just staying in one piece, as Black Wave struck it from the other side. Adder, his nerve having suddenly diminished, continued,

"As I was saying, that will hold him, for a short time"

"Adder," said Eagle, "can we escape?"

"If he's attacking this door and not the one behind him, we should be able to just go the long way around"

The COs said nothing else as they dashed into a small corridor in front of them, hoping desperately that there was another way around. As they turned another corner, they heard an ear-splitting crash as the blast doors crumpled and collapsed, torn apart and driven back by the unyielding power of Hawke. As the echoing clatter subsided, the COs heard Hawke's steady approach again.

They were stopped by Adder, who pulled to the right and pushed futilely against a locked door. As he was pulled back by Eagle with what might be deemed slightly excessive force, Grit, turning his face away, pressed his revolver to the single lock and blew a hole through the entrance to the ventilation shaft, and the hefty metal door gradually swung open.

The COs, perceiving that Hawke was getting far too close for comfort, pushed through the door and, greatly relieved by what they saw, leapt onto the waiting lift. It was a small platform, mounted on a rail that ran up the shaft, with a small and simple console to control it. Adder jostled to the front of the crowded platform and pressed a single button.

The lift began to crawl upwards painfully lethargically, and the fear of Hawke drove Eagle to once again draw his firearm and point it at Adder,

"Make this thing hurry up"

"Oh, yes, of course, o great prince of the skies, because, for obvious reasons, I really want to be on the same small flimsy metal platform as you, at a significant distance from the ground, when Hawke arrives, having just been locked in a smoke filled corridor thanks to the actions of this unruffled plebeian rube" Adder yelled, waving his hand in Grit's direction.

"Bad Adder! Quiet!" commanded Eagle, smacking him around the back of the head to reinforce his point.

In a short time, as the clear footsteps of Hawke got fearfully loud, Adder pressed another button and the lift came to a stop just in front of another metal door. This time, Grit was able to simply flick open the lock, as the mechanism was on his side, and, cautiously pushing their escape route open, he warily leaned out slightly. Seeing that the hallway he had emerged into was empty, he bolted across the empty area, and the other COs surged out of the dim vertical shaft after him.

Eagle paused for a moment,

"We've got to stop Hawke following us… Kanbei, I do believe that misuse of technology is your forte"

An insane grin crossed Kanbei's face as, with his elegant curved katana drawn instantly, gleaming and tempered, used by generations of samurai warriors, he stepped back into the doorway and, hearing no footsteps and so knowing that Hawke was waiting in the bottom of the deep vent, ripped the lift's controls apart with elegant blows, the exact and polished prowess of a seasoned and adept master of his art. A final overwhelmingly powerful onslaught, made to look easy by Yellow Comet's emperor, cut the platform free from its rail, which then fell down into the dismal gloom far below.

As the COs rushed down the corridor, hoping that Adder knew his way around, the crash of the platform hitting the ground, and hopefully Hawke, was clearly heard through the partly open doorway. As the echoing din and peal of the shattered metal splinters of the lift, dashed to pieces by the impact, faded away, a strident and penetrating call resounded clearly through the hallway, momentarily freezing the COs. Hawke, beaten for now, futilely roared,

"Eagle!"

Elsewhere in the base, another CO giggled in childish delight at the way things had unfolded. Lash loved a challenge, just as long as she could get her way and win. As she sat in her darkened room, surrounded by monitors that fed her news, a plan of the building appeared on one of the screens, a small door leading from a circular room to a long hallway flashing red, signalling an unscheduled disturbance. Lash laughed again,

"Oh Adder! Leading them right into the weapons hangars! That's so silly! Just like I knew you would, taking them to the only place that might still have an exit open! What a shame that you'll have to lead them right through the middle of my playground! And all I need to do is keep that one alive" she said, pointing at Eagle, "and Hawke will be so happy that he'll let me play with all his pretty toys in the basement laboratories!"

Lash had good reason to want every person that she was watching dead. Grit was, to her anyway, that nasty scarecrow that had broken her Black Cannons in Blue Moon during the second invasion. Furthermore, he had been the one who had crippled her air assault with his missile units.

Sami had been leading the front line resistance that had held the beaches in the north of Orange Star very recently.

Eagle had brought the reinforcements that had assisted the resistance, and he had destroyed Lash's new fuelling depot only weeks after its completion before she even got to use it for anything. Eagle may have been lucky enough to have been shielded from death by Hawke's commands, but Lash could still play with him a little bit, as long as he wasn't permanently damaged.

Kanbei… Lash didn't really have any quarrel with Kanbei, but she had never let that stand in the way of murder before, and she wasn't going to start now. Anyway, she didn't like his facial hair arrangement.

Lash's insane ranting thoughts was interrupted by a radio that began to beep,

"Lash, are you there?"

"Oh Hawke, have you got them all yet?"

"They have escaped through the ventilation shafts. Find them"

"Oh dear, such a terrible shame that they slipped away from you"

"Where are they now?"

"I'm not sure, but I'll give you a call if I see them anywhere"

"Reactivate the lifts. I will find them myself"

"Oh… that might be a bit tricky. You asked me to lockdown the building's lower floors, so I don't know how long it might take to get everything working again"

"Capture Eagle. Do what you will with the others"

"Oh, this is going to be so much fun"

"Get the lifts working. I do not like this situation"

"Oh keep your coat on, I'll get it done soon. Toodles"

Hawke didn't reply. Lash put down the radio, and glanced over at the single button that could turn the elevators back on. She would press it, in a little while anyway. Hawke had failed, so it was only fair that she got to play with them now. It wasn't like they were going anywhere. The airfield was sealed shut, their T-copter had been found and locked away, and the exits from the base were all fastened and secured. She picked up her radio,

"All units, get to your tanks, and be ready to enter the main hangar from your bays"

She put the radio down again. Hawke had underestimated the COs' intelligence. She would meet them with overwhelming strength. She, as a genius, had the wit to see that it was better to make excessive preparations than insufficient ones. The only way for them to get out would be to destroy the main generator, which had hundreds of elite infantry guarding it, or to access the main control room, which was kept safe by the same level of security, so both locations were completely secure.

Not that Lash wanted them dead. Not yet anyway. These were elite specimens. Tough, cunning and physically powerful guinea pigs. And now they were going to run around her trap blindly, delaying their deaths. Combat data was so hard to obtain, especially given the behaviour patterns of clones, which seemed quite predictable if you were a genius. All the clones had died without any real fight. This was a golden opportunity to see what her new toys could do against real opposition.

Hawke's turn was over, now it was Lash's go.


	16. Strength and Delusion

__

Hello all, sorry this took a while to get up, but exams are here. On a positive note, this chapter was, hopefully, worth waiting for, as it is the longest yet, as well as being a fitting conclusion of sorts to this bit of the tale, and, hopefully, unique in its characterisation…

Also, yes, I have still seen Star Wars and I know that the parallels (or straight stealing of ideas) keep coming, but it was accidental largely in this chapter, so don't panic, as no future scene contains anybody yelling 'Go for the legs! It might be our only chance of stopping these things!' (then again, Eagle would make an excellent Han Solo… and Nell as Mon Mothma… and Flak in a Death Star would be entertaining… oh, for goodness sake, somebody shoot me now).

As another note, my original character, whose identity remains a mystery somehow, despite clues being increasingly liberally scattered through the story, may in fact move into his own fic, an original story set before the first invasion of Sturm, but well after the whole White Sun thing… can you guess who it is yet? Anyway, would you prefer it if this increasingly large story of an original character got slotted into this story in a compressed form, or given his own fic (yes, his, a clue there) to be read alongside this one? Mention it in a review, along with complaints that this isn't in the Star Wars section (if I get too many, then the scene with the X-wings in the White Sun trench run will be removed).

Also, no, I don't know what anti-matter is, in advance. Just accept it as a plot device when it shows up.

Finally, concluding an unusually huge author's note, I still don't own Advance Wars… or a certain other franchise (wait and see!)… anyway, read, enjoy, review, PLEASE DO REVIEW. Reviews make me feel good about myself, so do leave them. I don't care if you're positive or negative, hell, I'd like constructive criticism, especially from schizophrenics, and I just want to know people are still reading, so if you read, please leave a review. Thank you in advance.

Cheers, Foulds

The COs, unnerved by the lack of opposition they were facing as they crept through the endless corridors, inched through the area with weapons out, led by Adder, who was himself somewhat uncertain of the layout of this part of the base. Nonetheless, he had been leading them with confidence and a tangible smugness that came from never being wrong. The five then entered a cavernous hall, and were unsettled by what they saw.

The room was a large cube, with stripes and shapes of bright colours adorning the walls, and giant smiling cuddly toys lining the edges of the room, staring onwards with their cold eyes. The presence of such a room would have been intimidating enough in such a cold and sterile military environment anyway, but there was more than that.

A giant green teddy bear, his formally smiling mouth sown shut, was chained to a wall, its furry limbs nailed into place. A red and yellow striped zebra, its eyes covered by a blindfold, was hanging from the ceiling by a chain, which was wrapped tightly around its neck. More large fluffy animal toys met painful looking ends around the room, and marble eyes and tufts of white stuffing littered the floor. The very centre of the room was occupied by a large glass tank, filled with water, the bottom littered by the heads of regular sized dolls.

Eagle felt sick. They may have been only toys, but if Lash was willing to do this to inanimate objects that had done nothing against her, then what did she do to her captured enemies? Adder was the first to speak,

"This is just a game. She meant us to find this room, and she wants us to be afraid. It's all set up. She doesn't do this sort of thing really"

The other COs looked at Adder, drawing confidence from his conviction regarding this fact. Adder was just glad that he was a good liar, especially since, as he was well aware, this was a good day for her toys. He had seen what had happened when Mr Zebra had apparently declined Lash's invitation to the tea party. Eagle looked around the room again. There were seven doors out of the room. Each was a colour of the rainbow. Adder looked around,

"On the other hand, six of these doors lead to traps, knowing Lash, and there should be a clue somewhere in here"

Eagle picked up a long wooden plank that had been abandoned next to a badly beaten panda. He walked over towards the red door and cautiously pushed it open with the piece of wood. Eagle fell back as, scarcely opened, the door exploded outwards with tremendous force, fire and smoke surging out as the shattered wooden pieces struck the far wall. As the smoke cleared, Eagle slowly picked himself up with Sami's aid as the others stayed back in shock. Fortunately he was not injured, but since this was only because of the happy coincidence that he had landed on a large decapitated teddy bear instead of the nearby discarded axe that had decapitated it, he decided against further experimentation.

The others crowded around the gently smouldering crevice left in the solid wall by the devastating blast. Against all their expectations, there was something left behind in the wall's indent. Upon the steel layer, hidden behind the coating of plaster that had been shattered by the blast, was a crudely drawn man, very short and quite deformed, waving his finger at them, disapproval clear by the frown on his face. The drawing was childlike, and possibly Lash's own.

"What does it mean?" asked Sami, "And why would Lash leave us a clue anyway?"

"Oh come now," said Adder scornfully, "you were in the north of Orange Star. She could have taken those beaches before you arrived, but where's the fun in an unopposed victory? She wanted to try out her new boat on you. It's the same here. She wants us dead, but not all of us, not yet. She'd rather we figure it out, so we can take on her next trap. If I know Lash, then she'll have a whole series of snares and ambushes waiting for us, and she wants them all to be used. At the end, just when we're on the verge of freedom, then she'll leave nothing to chance. But for now, at least we have a hope of getting through"

"All very well," said Eagle, "but we have no idea what any of this means. How does an angry dwarf help us?"

"I think I might just get it" said Grit, "We've got to be taking the yellow door"

"Grit, why?"

"Unless I'm very much mistaken, and just in case of that, Adder will be opening the next door, then that there is Lash, or more precisely a Munchkin, telling us to follow the yellow brick road, and the yellow door"

"How apt, a witch" replied Sami

"Anyway Adder," said Eagle, "Open the door, or you die"

"And by opening it, I'm putting my life in the hands of this slipshod, senseless, careless, cavalier yokel's reasoning, which appears to be based around a sketchy knowledge of a preposterous musical production. Oh, I do love being a prisoner of you rouges"

Adder, several firearms pointed at him, walked over to the door fairly casually. He appeared to know that if death was coming then it was coming, something he was getting increasingly used to, travelling with the COs. He threw his hand forwards, grabbed the door handle and pulled the door open violently, his eyes clenched shut and sweat dripping from his pallid face, betraying his innate cowardice.

As the room stayed silent and Adder opened an eye to look down an empty corridor, he straightened up instantly from his defensive cringing and cowering position to an accustomed pose of self-satisfied and arrogant certainty, suddenly slouching completely at ease in the doorframe, without a care in the world,

"Oh hurry up you cowards" he added.

The COs gradually inched through the door, and saw that the nondescript corridor's floor was lined by a mosaic of yellow tiles that meandered through the area and round the corner ahead. Eagle stopped,

"Are you sure we should follow this path? Surely any route set by Lash will guide us straight into her traps"

"Maybe so," replied Adder, "but, trust me, if you break the rules that Lash has set and don't play along with her little fantasy, then things will be a lot worse. Keep going and she'll have set us challenges with solutions. Veer off course and we just die"

"You said that Lash would set up impossible odds against us at the very end to make sure that she wins, didn't you?"

"Well, yes, obviously, that's why she wants us to play on her terms"

"So when we get to them?"

"We worry about that problem when we get to it"

Eagle didn't answer Adder's reasoning. At least it would keep them alive for now. As they walked around the next corner, the long corridor, not lit from then onwards, led into a vast hall, veiled in darkness, which disguised its true magnitude. The COs, their natural trepidation about walking into a dark and expansive room in the very centre of the weapons testing section of a massively powerful enemy's strongest fortress being overcome by not exactly having any choice, crept forwards.

They recoiled, stumbling back, fingers twitching too close to the triggers of guns, as intensely bright lights burst into life and lit up the room, leaving a single human shaped figure clearly silhouetted against the dazzling white beams, who was left completely anonymous, since the COs' eyes were accustomed to dull gloom. The figure stayed completely still, but whether he was facing them or facing away eluded them. He looked so familiar…

As the COs covered their eyes and began to see again, confusion holding back their desire to shoot, a startling sight met their eyes, which they at first put down to a trick of the light.

Grit was standing before them. As they walked towards the second Grit with childlike curiosity, the lights dimmed slightly, as Lash seemingly wanted them to be able to see what she had made for them. A model of Grit was indeed standing in front of them, perfect in all but two details.

Firstly, the handle of a long knife was in sight, the whole blade thrust all the way into his chest, a detail that Lash had taken great pleasure in, clearly, since she had gone to the trouble of adding realistically congealed blood to the wound, although the source of the blood, considering Lash's character, was not something worth thinking about.

Secondly, clumps of straw had been positioned all over him, materialising from his sleeves and collar. The other COs looked at Grit with some confusion. He stared at the model, a rarely seen anger faintly visible in his eyes, and replied without turning his burning gaze away,

"I heard about this from young Colin. When Lash first saw me, she called me the scarecrow, and that's what this thing here is. Just like the scarecrow was the first one that little Dorothy met. She's been planning for us to walk this journey for a while"

"Grit," said Eagle quietly, "what happens next in the original Wizard of Oz? If Lash is putting us in a twisted version of it, it'll give us the edge to know what we're going up against"

"After the scarecrow, Dorothy met the tin man"

"The tin man?"

"Yeah, a metal man with no heart… and a pretty large axe… this ain't good, y'all. I have a strange feeling that when Lash creates her interpretation of a metal man with an axe that feels no compassion, then it ain't gonna be friendly"

"Adder," said Eagle, "do you know what Lash could be planning?"

"I don't know anything about any of the weapons here. I only know the layout because it's on the plans. What Lash builds here is her business"

The five moved through the room and turned to see the entrance they had come through seal itself with a metal barricade that fell from the top of the doorway. At the same moment, a hidden door in the wall opposite their entry point made itself apparent, as it slid open. As the COs, not exactly having any say in the matter, walked across to the newly visible exit, Eagle muttered,

"We're being herded. We can't keep following this path forever"

A slender corridor, with the same yellow floor that they had been walking along for some time, led them into another large hall. This one was already gently lit, although it was completely empty, except for a metal walkway high up in the room, perhaps a viewing platform for when Lash wanted to be closer to the action. The whole room was yellow, and, again, the entrance sealed itself behind them and no other exit was obvious.

The COs edged into the room, fully expecting some type of trap or deception. They could all imagine Lash's hysterical laughter, wherever she might be, at the moment at which they jumped in shock when, from an unidentified source, the main theme from the Wizard of Oz began to play exceedingly loudly, blasted into the room through hidden speakers. Eagle, simply hating any situation which he couldn't understand, bothered and exasperated by all this childish nonsense, yelled,

"Lash, what's your point?"

He regretted his words very shortly afterwards.

Lash, almost certainly having heard Eagle's request to reveal her true intentions for this room, obliged. As the happy, yet increasingly tedious and repetitive music droned ever on, the room began to gently shudder, and then shake increasingly violently. The far wall, the source of the trembling, slowly began to rise, unnecessarily slowly, as it seemed to Grit, as if Lash was trying to create suspense and fear… a suspense and fear that was quite justified, Grit noted, as the huge door struggled to rise.

The area behind was fairly small, Grit noted first, then he saw what was truly there. Two dark grey metal objects, either one as large as any of the COs themselves, appeared first, then the door revealed strips of intricately fashioned metal, seemingly forming a pair of black legs, looking solid and mighty, invulnerable to weapons.

As the door rose further, the true scale of Lash's invention became apparent, since the door kept rising to reveal more of the perverse yet elegantly formed metal creature, it's form stretching up to the very ceiling, as it seemed to the staggered COs.

Finally, the door revealed that the contraption did indeed rise close to the ceiling of the cavernous hall. The two legs merged with a huge bulk at the top of the metal being, the size and apparent weight of the top section clearly demonstrating the tremendous sturdiness of the legs that supported it effortlessly.

The top was a black cube, the harsh edges left in place by Lash to make it look more threatening, mounted on a cylindrical neck, to allow the head to turn, featuring a blacked out window running along the top of the head's front, a pitiless clone pilot presumably inside Lash's pitiless metal creation. The machine lacked arms, but a token huge axe was tied to the side of it.

The head was not too far away from being a neotank, featuring a large cannon emerging from the front of the craft, but also a long and fearsome rail gun, looking far more fierce than the most formidable anti aircraft guns that the alliance possessed, as, unlike the Vulcan cannon's traditional double cannon, which all anti-air units carried, this weapon possessed six anti aircraft cannons in one weapon, enough to shatter any air unit, and also, as the COs noted with more fear, any unit on the ground would face overwhelming firepower.

The huge walking tank stayed perfectly still, as did the terrified COs, while, all this time, the music still played. The cheerful song was then slightly hushed, as Lash's giggling voice rang out through the room,

"Meet my tin man! Isn't he lovely! Unfortunately, my tin man doesn't like Dorothy, so Dorothy is going to get stepped on! Now, so I can see how long it's possible to survive against my new toy, you can have these…"

As Lash spoke, trapdoors in the floor, invisible to the human eye while closed, slid open, and large metal barricades rose up into the room, tall enough to hide behind easily,

"Now, those are made of Lash armour, so they'll stand up to even my new rail gun, but the armour's not reinforced, so it won't take much of a barrage, so keep moving. Oh, and don't worry, because it won't use the anti-tank cannon on you; that would be unfair, so just worry about the rail gun. Have fun!"

As she cut off and the music increased in volume again, the rail gun began to slowly rotate with an ominous dull roar. The COs, shaken into activity, dived behind the nearest two barricades, Sami, Eagle and Jess behind one and Grit and Kanbei behind the other.

The walking tank shook the room as it began stepping ponderously forwards, its huge weight a frightening notion on its own. Unsure of their actions, the COs stayed hidden until the increasing roar of the rail gun came to its conclusion. The sharp pounding thunderous explosions drowned out Lash's supposedly appropriate music and smashed into the barricade protecting Grit and Kanbei with awesome intensity, forcing the two to move back from their shelter as the metal warped and bent inwards under the bombardment. A brief pause was followed by the other shelter receiving a demonstration of the power of Lash's new toy, forcing Eagle and Sami to move away from the frayed metal, fearing lest it might be torn apart by the ferocity of the fire.

Grit, Sami and Eagle all fired around the outside of the blockade at their unassailable foe whenever they were not pinned down by fire themselves, but every bullet bounced harmlessly off the impenetrable armour. Kanbei, seemingly lacking in his defiance, watched the lumbering giant carefully. Drawing his sword, a blade used by countless generations of emperors, the slayer of a thousands foes through the ages, the constant weapon that had never failed the guardian of Yellow Comet yet, he awaited his moment to strike.

Just as Kanbei readied himself, Eagle created a plan. Hawke had given something away to the COs, but Eagle just hadn't realised it before, and it was something that they could use against Lash. Eagle, just as the hail of fire against his barrier stopped, having left Jess with Sami, threw himself out from his cover and stood casually between two defensive shields, weapon holstered, making no attempt to hide his presence. The walking tank turned its head towards him, and the cannon lowered, but then the machine hesitated, the whirling rain cannon staying relatively quiet.

Eagle had been right. Hawke, for some reason, wanted him alive, and Lash knew this and feared killing Eagle. Everyone else was expendable, but Lash couldn't kill him. This scene, pristine to a deaf observer, was still extremely hectic, with the music blaring on and Grit's pounding revolver continuing to scratch the paint of Lash's new weapon. Eagle's plan sadly didn't stretch any further into the future than creating this very diversion and pause in the action. Fortunately, Kanbei was ready.

Just like the tallest oak in a forest weathers even the mightiest hurricane and emerges from any onslaught unscathed, so did Lash's walking tank laugh to scorn Grit and Sami's futile attacks, fearsome and deadly to any other foe. But, charging forwards with incontestable resolve, like the fierce lightning, with strength that cannot be denied, which falls from blackened skies, tears apart the proudest tree of countless years, cutting through the magnificent entity, shattering the brittle bark, just like this did Kanbei storm forwards, unafraid of the gigantic machine in front of him.

Leaping forwards, he seized its left leg, and clambered upwards as the tank stepped back and forth, trying in vain to shake off Yellow Comet's emperor. Kanbei, whose will was not to be denied, his purpose certain, his objective clear, climbed upwards, and, upon ascending to just below the head of the now frantically trembling form of Lash's once proud weapon, now reduced to fear of the unknown, he swung his sword at a predetermined target.

The armour that had tolerated the storm of fire from Grit could not stand against the combination of the beautifully curved katana, sharpened by generations of master swordsmen, and the man wielding it, the strength of Kanbei laying low Lash's metal compounds with no struggle. The blade passed straight through three pipes, which burst as soon as they were ruptured, spraying thick black liquid over the floor. Instantly, the machine ground to a halt, jerked and settled, frozen, mid-step, its hydraulics destroyed.

The head continued to buzz and turn, looking up and down, and the rail gun kept rotating, but only shortly. Kanbei, who never left a task unfinished, took his sword in both hands and, clinging onto the static machine with his legs, thrust his blade upwards, burying it up to the hilt in the machine, the tempered point tearing through the armour like a swift owl cuts effortlessly through the black night's still air. The head twitched, and sparks showered past Kanbei's averted head, before the machine, a victim of the invincible emperor, died.

With it, the music too stopped, the task completed. The far wall, behind the huge gate that had uncovered the walking tank, suddenly revealed a way out to them, as another door opened, a way to another challenge. As Kanbei dropped to the ground with the expected level of grace and the others walked across to meet him, Eagle said simply,

"Another challenge and one of us will be dead, and probably more. I know that Lash may be giving us a chance to succeed, since she had a way out prepared, but it seems that Hawke has given up on taking us all alive. He wants me, but the rest of you are clearly Lash's playthings now"

The others nodded silently. Sami then asked Adder,

"Why would Lash build a walking tank? Was it just for us?"

"No, I knew that it was one of her ideas some time ago, and this must be the result of her experiments"

"Why would she build a walking tank?"

"Do try to think before speaking. What units walk around on their legs right now?"

"Infantry and mechs"

"And what makes them being on legs instead of tread or tyres so useful?"

"They… can ford rivers and cross mountains" said Sami, horrified realisation spreading across her face

"Yes, imagine, a surprise assault over the mountains by units with the firepower of anti aircraft guns and neotanks combined. Black Hole could confidently destroy bridges, since our units can cross rivers, leaving your whole army largely immobile. Oh, I'm looking forwards to invading your countries with these things already"

Kanbei then looked up. The walking tank had come to a halt right next to the metal platform running around the room that they had seen earlier. Kanbei pointed it out, and the COs, relieved to escape from Lash's torture trip, wasted no time in clambering up the now static legs as Kanbei had done, swinging around onto the head, and leaping over to the high and wide metal platform. The five looked around. There was a door at one end of the raised area, which they decided to follow.

The dark corridor they entered continued for some time, their journey accompanied by Adder's anecdotes about Lash's behaviour, which didn't help the COs confidence,

"And then Lord Sturm bought her a guinea pig for her eighth birthday, which she loved and cherished. It was called Miss Squeaky, as I recall. She was trying out her death ray on clones at the time, but they weren't cute and fluffy, you see. Then one day, it bit her while she was feeding it, so she went to her tool shed, retrieved her favourite chainsaw, came back and…"

"Adder," interrupted Sami, "please don't finish this story"

Eventually, they came into another large room, like the one they had left. This however wasn't a room they were supposed to enter, but was a storage area for the entity that filled the majority of the space in this room, the item that the COs couldn't take their eyes off. Eagle remembered Drake mentioning a huge empty hangar in the Hydra, far too large for any unit, potentially capable of holding a battleship. Its purpose suddenly became terrifyingly clear.

The COs stared down at the largest unit they had ever seen, excluding the Hydra itself. The area housed a colossal tank, and another walking one, but this made the previous one seem pathetic. It was supported by four legs, each one broad and tall enough to crush the previous walking tank they had encountered underfoot.

The shape was quite bizarre. It was very tall on account of its huge legs. It was also remarkably wide, with a huge command deck in the very centre of it, again on a cylindrical neck to allow it to move freely. However, it was a fairly short distance from the front to the back, with the two legs fairly close together on each side, the extra two presumably required to add stability to the immense weight as it walked forwards.

The COs walked around to the front to see its fearsome arsenal of weapons. Four cannons, all neotank class, lined the bottom of the craft's front, each on a rail that ran around the whole circular central section of the tank, and each was on a pivot, allowing all four cannons to fire in any direction and to act independently of each other, tracking four different targets at once. No other weapons were obvious, although Eagle was certain that there would be more. Adder then spoke quietly,

"I've heard about this. You are of course aware of the tank and medium tank units, but didn't you wonder why Lash called the neotanks that, instead of the next step up in terms of their names? It was because Lash was already working on the true successor to tank warfare, since the neotanks were just a stopgap, which is this thing; the Heavy Tank"

"Lash wants these things to go into mass production?" asked Sami nervously

"Well obviously not" replied Adder, disdain for her stupidity clear in his voice, "This thing is massively ineffective in terms of cost. Looking at the time and money it takes to make just one, neotank production is far more efficient, so this is now just a propaganda weapon of sorts. Imagine the effect on morale if this thing starts walking towards you. Most useful, in a way"

"What makes it so invincible, when Kanbei just defeated that other one?" asked Sami

"Lash always wanted to make a weapon coated in her own Lash armour, like we use on the pipelines, but it was too heavy, so the weapon couldn't move, and that was useless. This is the result. It has to be so huge to contain Lash's new Black Engine, a way of generating huge amounts of energy, enough to move even this thing, by using the same energy Hawke does to make Black Wave, pure darkness, anti-matter"

"How many Black Engines are there?"

"Just the one, and it's inside that thing"

"Ah," said Grit, looking down, "so this would be her lion"

Grit had just noticed the furry mane that had been tied around the command deck of the Heavy Tank, and that teeth were attached to the bottom of the cannons. Adder, meanwhile, looked through a grubby window into the adjacent room, and exclaimed,

"We're almost out! The room next to us is the main hangar, and that giant door leads to the outside, and it should take us right out in front of the airport, if we can get past the perimeter walls, which shouldn't be too tricky given what we've already done"

"If freedom is just there," said Eagle solemnly, "then we were meant to find our way into that room, and then die facing this. This is the impossible odds finish to make sure that she wins, so I'll guess that there'll be more backup troops ready to enter that room to stop us"

Eagle looked own, and a wry smile crossed his face,

"How about, seeing as we've found this thing before it starts up, we just borrow it?"

"Oh, what a wonderful idea!" exclaimed Adder, "Let's just stroll out of a weapons testing hangar inside the single largest ground unit ever created. That will just blend right in!"

"Adder," replied Eagle calmly, "you said it yourself. This is the final room where Lash wins. In that room, Lash knows where we are, Lash has set the terms of the fight, and Lash will make impossible for us to escape, but only if we obey her rules. She may have this all worked out, but if this is a straight fight now, then this thing might just give us the edge, and one that she hasn't planned for"

The COs looked down at the hangar. The Heavy Tank was surrounded by temporary scaffolding, some of which was built up almost as high as the raised metal walkway that they were presently occupying. Adder revealed that it was there for maintenance purposes, and for workmen to use while reinforcing the hull's armour.

The five COs clambered down between the floors and walked across the wooden pranks laid just above the flawless black armour of Lash's pet project. The wide body of Lash's Heavy Tank spread out on either side of them, just below them. But in front of them, the huge circular command deck rose up out of the monstrous entity's sleek black top, a solid door's outline faintly visible against the armour's smooth coating.

Adder reached forwards, and pressed gently against an indistinguishable section of the armour, gently tapping his finger against the tank's hull. A thin slice of the armour slid away to reveal an elegant black keypad. Adder entered another long code,

"Lash's personal access codes. I always knew that they'd be useful someday"

After a minute, Adder entered the final digit with a flourish and the door opened, his self-satisfied smirk present as was to be expected. The door silently crept backwards a tiny amount and slid away, revealing a well-lit lift, with mirrors lining each wall to give an illusion of openness. Adder led the rest in and pressed a button labelled 'five'. A small monitor displayed that they were on the second floor already.

The lift quietly rose without a sensation of movement and opened on what it claimed was the fifth floor. Sami would have never guessed how expansive it could be inside a piece of military technology. Five floors. It was like a large house. Adder informed them that there were living quarters, a communications array, supplies to keep a full crew nourished for weeks behind enemy lines and enough ammunition to keep crushing the enemy for a long time, while the experimental Black Engine would keep it moving theoretically forever.

The four crept down a corridor to what Adder whispered was the main command deck. A moment's pause to reload and prime their weapons was followed by Eagle kicking open the door and the others charging in.

Four soldiers, identical to every one they had seen before, which they assumed from their height since all wore helmets to quash any potential originality, sat at various stations around the expansive command centre.

They turned and faced the COs, looks of incredulous curiosity veiled behind their darkened helmets. These weren't soldiers. They were just lives that Hawke had created that were in the wrong place at the wrong time, caught, if not unwillingly then certainly innocently, in Lash's sick games.

Eagle couldn't bring himself to fire. These were drivers, not fighters. They were rounded up and pushed into the lift and ordered by Adder to get out of the Heavy Tank and onto the scaffolding, but only after Adder, on Eagle's rather forceful request, ordered them to relax and have a good time, despite Adder's certainty that they wouldn't understand the concept of a relaxation.

Eagle, as they strolled back to the control deck, said to the others, although mainly to Adder,

"No matter what Lash can build, there'll always be a human behind it in some way or another, and when it comes down to it, no matter how strong the armour around him, a clone will never beat the COs of the alliance, and neither will a psychotic little girl. Perhaps when Lash is ready to play in the real world, instead of with limitless resources, borrowed strength, always getting her own way, simple minded clones and twisted games with no consequences, then maybe she'll be able to take us on. Until then, we'll have the edge on the real field of battle"

Eagle then retrieved Jess, who he had gently laid on the floor of the command deck, and carried her to a small sofa in a small side room on the fifth floor. He gently brushed a hair from out of her face, but drew strength and some solace from his certainty that her breathing was slightly stronger now. He returned to the command deck, where Adder had settled down in the chair at the very front of the area. He brought Eagle up to speed,

"This is the only essential set of controls for the Heavy Tank. It controls the legs. The weapons are elsewhere, but if this tank was what we were supposed to take on, then we hopefully might be unopposed. I'll drive, since I'm the only one familiar with Black Hole technology, but seeing as it isn't an artillery unit, a plane or an infantry unit" he said, casting his critical gaze from Grit to Eagle to Sami, respectively, "and… well, let's not even talk about you and anything invented after a metal stick with a pointy edge" he concluded, glaring at Kanbei with contempt.

Adder tapped a screen with a hideous bony white finger, which replied with a gentle whirring noise, as the huge hangar door in front rose up to reveal the empty expanse of concrete separating them from freedom.

Eagle glanced around the command deck while the door opened. It was very spacious, featuring carpets and what appeared to be wallpaper, suggesting that Lash herself planned to use the Heavy Tank, just as she had been aboard the Hydra. A large window stretched around half of the room, and various screens and keypads sat in front of comfortable looking chairs.

Adder laid his arms on two armrests which appeared next to him on command, and gripped a lever at the end of each one, which he manipulated smoothly as the Heavy Tank groaned into life and began to creep forwards with thunderous crashes as each mighty leg rose and fell. Despite the sluggishness of its movement, each leg's vast size allowed them to charge forwards fairly quickly, the command deck staying completely level, lacking any feeling of motion besides a slight vibration, forcing them to watch through the window.

Without warning, an alarm sounded in the hangar they were crossing and doors in the wall sprang open, as the more walker tanks emerged, firing mercilessly at the Heavy Tank. Grit smiled confidently as he noticed that he couldn't even feel any new trembling caused by the massive bombardment. He looked at the worry etched onto Sami's face and said,

"Settle down y'all. Reckon there's no need to do anything. If this thing is coated in Lash armour, then we can just walk out of here with no fuss"

Adder, looking up nervously, stuttering slightly, said,

"Actually, that's not exactly true. We're sustaining a lot of damage, and I'm not sure this thing can take it. The readings are already showing stress points in the armour. Lash hasn't finished with this yet; the armour isn't fully reinforced"

"Lash was going to send an incomplete weapon against us?" asked Eagle sceptically

"She intended this thing to take on two handguns, an automatic rifle and a man with a pointy stick. I'm sorry she didn't feel it necessary to make the armour resistant to a prolonged onslaught from neotank class cannons"

"Then we'll have to fight back. How do the weapons work?"

"Much the same as existing artillery units' targeting systems, but the cannons are largely capable of targeting enemies by themselves. Just point in the vaguely correct direction and they'll do the rest, which is fortunate given your combined incompetence"

Adder tapped a switch, and two of the consoles bleeped loudly and whirred into life as a rumbling beneath them signified the cannons loading and preparing to fire. Sami and Eagle leapt into the seats in front of the consoles, and wrestled with the unfamiliar controls as best as they could. Fortunately, as Adder continued pointing out with some glee, the system was idiot proof, and the Heavy Tank, almost single-handedly, crushed the walkers around it, returning their impotent fire with vastly more effective blasts, the cannons tearing apart the now outwardly fragile walkers, knocking them off unstable legs with glancing blows. Adder, increasingly exacerbated by the constant destruction, finally cried,

"Could you please stop destroying things! The armour seems to be fine now, so could we perhaps act with a modicum of subtlety or guile? Honestly, I risk my life leading you all here, and how do you repay? By shocking me, abusing me, and needlessly crushing a large part of the army that I'm going to inherit as soon as Hawke is gone! I would like to personally use this base in the future, so I would greatly appreciate if you could all just be careful what you blow up! You know, I escaped without all this fuss"

"Adder!" Eagle said, cutting him off, "Can you open the outer door from here?"

"I… I should be able to, but it's locked as well, and can't be opened from inside this thing. Only Lash can open it now"

"In that case, Sami, get ready to fire on the door!"

"Look, that won't work," said Adder, "that thing is made of fully reinforced Lash armour. No cannons can break it"

Eagle and Sami paid no attention as the Heavy Tank launched a fierce and sustained deluge of fire hitting the door, all to no avail. Just before Adder could make an overly long and excessively elaborately phrased 'I told you so' speech, Eagle wondered about something and pushed a small control stick to the left.

The Heavy Tank's cannons ripped through the reinforced concrete of the wall right next to the door like a shark through the still deep waters, leaving a huge gaping hole to the outside world, bright sunlight, an entity the base was not used to seeing, and one that the COs were unaccustomed to due to their time in this base, pouring in.

Confident in their victory as a few walkers fired at them from behind, the COs manoeuvred the Heavy Tank through the wide opening in Hawke's defences, as Lash's desperate voice rang through the hangar, covered in smoking debris and metal shards,

"Oh! That's not fair! This isn't how it's supposed to be! Haven't you ever seen the Wizard of Oz! The cowardly lion can't beat the tin man! Do not escape through the hole in the wall!"

The COs marched onwards, ignoring the impotent Lash, beaten once more, and then crushed the two security walls underfoot, ready to leap aboard their T-copter and flee home, their mission completed.

But an unwelcome scene met their eyes. The airport was deserted, without a single craft in view. Adder was the first to speak,

"Lash has locked down the airfield. Hawke must have ordered her to take no risks. They've locked away our T-copter! And, before anyone asks, no, the Heavy Tank can't fly. It may be strong, but if we can't escape, then we can't fight off the whole army that's stationed here"

Eagle thought back. Something about the Hydra was in his mind. Lash had wanted to use this craft personally… the evacuation T-copters. The Hydra had had evacuation craft because Lash was onboard. If this thing was going to carry Lash as well, surely there would be a T-copter somewhere to keep her safe in any situation. Eagle excitedly exclaimed this to the others, and Sami volunteered to search every floor for it, since Adder didn't know where it was, or if there was one at all. As Sami ran off and disappeared into the lift, Eagle thought about what Adder had said and began,

"You said that you should have been able to open the hangar doors from in here normally. How could you have done?"

"This thing is connected to the Black Hole mainframe. With the right access codes, I can access any system from here"

"Including Hawke's files, seeing you have the access codes?"

"Well, yes, but he is a cautious man. They'll be heavily encrypted"

"That doesn't matter, download all of Hawke's files onto whatever you can and give it to me"

"Oh, of course, I forgot that you are a master hacker, that you can break a six billion line code encryption or that your country even has the means of reading this copy of the data"

"I'm sure Sonja can outwit anything Hawke can set up, with the right equipment. Anyway, get on with it"

Adder, continuing to curse Eagle under his breath for the whole time he was working, completed Eagle's request and gave him a small, thin, black piece of glinting metal, elaborate markings running over the middle, just below a slender layer of glass. As Sami rushed back in, revealing that there was a single evacuation T-copter in the bay on the first floor for exactly this situation, Adder casually mentioned,

"Right, I'll just park the Heavy Tank over here, and then it'll be waiting for me when I come back"

"We're on the top of a ridge, correct?" asked Eagle. Sami then nodded, so he continued, leaning forwards and peering right to see the cliff that ran parallel to the airstrip, "Yes, this should work quite well"

Having watched Adder's movements, he now pulled him by the collar out of the chair, and sat down himself, turning the Heavy Tank sharply to the right, and then, tapping the automatic pilot button, which made the craft traipse slowly onwards in a straight line, he ran for the lift, pausing briefly to collect Jess, calling over his shoulder to the trailing Adder,

"The Black Engine won't destroy the universe or anything if it's destroyed?"

"No, it'll be like an intensified version of Black Storm within the Heavy Tank, so it'll just make a big explosion, not that I approve of that at all. What right do you have to destroy this thing? I think that such a decision should be mine, since, in all fairness, I am closer to being the rightful owner than you…" Adder trailed off as Eagle tightened the collar around his neck slightly too severely.

They hurried into the T-copter, which Sami had already prepared to take off, and, as Adder entered a small code into another identical keypad, a large hidden door in the rear of the Heavy Tank silently slid open. The COs climbed into the T-copter and watched the Heavy Tank drift away from them as they gently rose off the ground and crept into the open air. As soon as they were clear of Lash's most powerful weapon, Sami, seizing the controls, pulled the T-copter up into the sky swiftly, speeding away from the base as the walkers futile fire became more distant.

As Grit and Eagle began to administer first aid to Jess, Sami, nominally helped by Kanbei, piloted the T-copter to safety, while Adder made disapproving comments relating to their conduct from start to finish, ultimately awarding the mission grade D, since, as he claimed, their speed and technique had both been appalling.

However, on the ground, the matter was not quite decided yet. The sinister silence in the normally bustling airfield was destroyed by a loud explosion, as the front gates, locked and sealed, Lash's strongest armour again, flew forwards yielding to Hawke's invincible power, as Black Wave struck down the door, allowing squads of troops to rush out, as Hawke strolled out into the airfield, which was completely empty. He looked around, informed of what had happened by security forces who had witnessed the battle from Lash's hangars, just in time to hear the deafening roar and thunderous explosion erupt from the very bottom of the deep ravine, the Black Engine sending forth a giant black plume of shadow.

The man with an iron will that would not fail under any circumstance had not waited for Lash to release him, but had torn down the lift door and climbed the elevator shaft with his bare hands, forcefully opening any door that stood in his way, just as he crushed any opposition on the battlefield. Hawke, having seen the fleeing T-copter, called over a sub commander,

"If I cannot capture them, then they must die. Mobilise the airforce. They cannot outrun fighters"

"Sir!" came the response, "We can't. Mistress Lash sealed the airport, just in case, but then ordered the fuel tanks of every air unit in the base to be emptied, as if they were able to escape from the base, then they could probably get into the sealed hangars. But my men didn't know that Mistress Lash kept a T-copter in her Heavy Tank; only she knew the exact specifications of it. It will take hours to have any force ready to move"

Hawke said nothing, before dismissing the sub commander with a wave of his hand. How could five people cause such destruction against a whole clone army? This was why he had to capture them…

Today was their victory, but it was a hollow one. Jess had already fully served her purpose, and, although he had ideally hoped to capture the others, he had truly lost nothing consequential, he had always hated Lash's Heavy Tank, it was expensive and took up her valuable time, but he had already gained much from Jess…

Without another word, he returned inside.

Meanwhile, Eagle smiled as he watched the colour creep back into Jess' features, like the first buds of spring, on the plants that seemed to have fallen to winter's fury, rise up and tremble towards the sun, weak, yet alive. Grit confirmed that her heart rate was stronger now, and slightly faster as well.

High in the heavens, free, reunited with all he had lost, the prince of the skies felt truly happy for the first time in many weeks, as the COs returned home.


	17. Consequences and Conclusions

__

Dear all, thanks again for taking the time to review the last chapter, and it's good to have my favourite schizophrenic back! I have just seen the E3 footage of AW3: Under Fire, and I feel slightly sick. How could Nintendo give it away to another company!?! It looks awful, it looks confusing, the control system is abysmal, it's not even Advance Wars, and concept art shows all new COs! Gah, maybe some old faces will show up sooner or later.

Also, in references to a point made in a review, sorry if any of y'all are of an American persuasion, but I am English, and I write English. Realise is an English verb. Realize is an American verb. I'm sorry, but I will be using all English spellings, and you sooner find Eagle wanting to 'crash' the 'mall' before you find Sonja 'realizing' anything, so don't bother pointing it out.

Anyway, that's all for this chapter, so Read, Enjoy, and REVIEW, always Review. Cheers, Foulds

Several weeks passed from the events in Green Earth. The return of the COs had been somewhat muted by Jess' condition, and no great celebration was arranged, many people being understandably eager to defer the parties until Jess fully recovered.

Eagle had not seen Jess since he had personally carried her into the Orange Star HQ. Medics had crowded round, fussing, speaking incomprehensible jargon remarkably quickly, ordering for various chemicals, which had, as Eagle saw it, ominously long names.

Sonja had insisted that Jess be given time to rest and, with doctors in agreement, this had been enforced. However, Sonja herself had been allowed access to her briefly each day to gather whatever information Jess could shed light on, and Sonja alone had been permitted unrestricted access to Jess' medical information, which apparently had great significance to Sonja's intel gathering, as was the rumour circulating through the HQ at least.

Eagle had filled his long days with work on his airforce, but his most prized possession, as he had always instinctively assumed it was, seemed slightly less valuable to him in light of what had happened to him during this invasion.

When he was not working, then he spent more and more time with Sami, a loyal companion who had tried to help him when his mind had been chaotic and filled with clashing, turbulent, disjointed notions. She continued to help him now, which was a great comfort as he enjoyed her company immensely, perhaps being more comfortable around the fiery yet not excessively contrary Sami than he was around the more strong willed individuals. Sami may have been hot-blooded on the battlefield, but she was humble in conversation.

Adder, meanwhile, disappointed not to have been awarded a full triumphal procession and medal for his services, was back in the cell, or more precisely in front of his mirrors, complaining incessantly about the low quality of the salmon he was receiving, while also asking if they could just rotate the building to give him a nicer view.

Eagle had pleaded with Sonja to let him see Jess briefly, and was always the first to appeal for visitors to be allowed. Eventually Sonja had relented, allowing Eagle alone to visit the weak CO.

Eagle remembered entering the room and seeing Jess, although so much stronger than when she had been rescued, looking so weak and vulnerable, attached to machines and large pieces of equipment, tubes running along her limbs, and entering her nose, unconscious.

Her face was pale, despite, Sonja had assured him, several blood transfusions. Her hair lay flat and unkempt against her pillow, as she lacked the energy or capacity to move it. Her eyes, so bright and fierce, strong and unyielding, in former times at least, were dull and grey. Her breathing was laboured yet shallow. A long thin scar ran across her forehead.

Eagle felt a surge of anger and fear flow through him as he looked upon the frail and feeble life before him, eager to crush Black Hole, but also devoted to staying by her side as long as possible, fearful lest he might lose her again.

It was strange to him. He had been so terrified of never seeing her again, yet, as she lay here next to him, the burning emotions that had tormented him before, grief and desperation, weren't replaced by any deeper fondness for her than he remembered previously.

The, if slightly violent, romantic fairytale of the prince of the skies rescuing the damsel in distress didn't seem to have a happy ending. He looked at the weak life before him. True, he wanted revenge, but all he felt for the girl herself was affection. Losing her had hurt him deeply, but it truly had been her loss that he had grieved for, not any bitter regret that he hadn't done anything differently when she had been there. What he already had with Jess, a professional and warm mutual hatred, was worth fighting for. He didn't want anything more from her.

Eagle smiled to himself. Drake had always told him that he was impulsive. Eagle knew that he would probably have gone on a hopeless suicide mission to save any of the COs, or any of his troops whatsoever. That was just who he was.

Eagle looked up as Jess stirred and opened her eyes tentatively, squinting into the dappled sunlight that covered the room. She lazily glanced round and recoiled slightly at the sight of the fondly smiling Eagle. She blushed slightly, and spoke, her voice weak and hoarse,

"Sonja told me that you helped get me out. Thank you. How did you do it?"

"Oh, after the whole Hydra thing, Adder helped as get into Hawke's base, then Grit helped us escape from Hawke, then Adder knew Hawke's access codes, so he drove us out in Lash's stolen Heavy Tank"

"Grit's back? Hydra? Heavy Tank? Adder's on our side now?… How long was I in that base?"

Eagle chuckled to himself,

"The snake was persuaded to see our point of view. I shocked him a few times on your behalf"

"Good"

"Jess, what did Hawke want with you?"

"I don't know" she paused, not meeting Eagle's gaze, "I wish that I did"

"Well… we saw that table," Jess recoiled at its mention, just as Adder had, "what did Hawke ask you while you were… in that room"

"Nothing. He never asked anything. I'm sorry, I begged him to stop, I promised to tell him anything he wanted, but he never spoke. Not once. He just…" Jess couldn't finish, and seemed on the verge of tears, a state which Eagle had never seen her in before. He quickly said,

"It's okay. You don't have to tell me anything right now. Just tell everything to Sonja when you're feeling better. That's all that matters"

Jess, without another word, leaned forwards, and began to undo the back of the light blue dress she had been given by the medics. She turned her back to Eagle, himself averting his gaze while blushing furiously, not quite sure what was happening. Then she opened the item of clothing outwards, revealing her back.

Eagle's mouth dropped open, his breath suddenly coming unevenly, his throat dry and burning. He looked up and down her back, and felt sick. Long deep gashes, healed over yet still black, deep ridges perhaps permanently ingrained into her back, running from her neck to below the small of her back, sullied her otherwise unblemished skin, too serious for any medicine besides time to heal. Eagle hadn't realised how strong she really was. She must have been in a lot of pain. The only way to make such wounds would be to prevent the opened lesion from healing. Jess said simply, a quiver faintly audible in her voice,

"You deserved to know. The same thing… in that room… every day… he didn't even ask any questions…" with the final statement, Jess, although not crying, even after everything she was too proud to cry in front of Eagle, began to choke and splutter, trying in vain to restrain her emotion and pain. Eagle leaned forwards and gently held the scared girl in his arms. Jess was scared. He never thought he would see the day.

He desperately wanted to know what Hawke had done to her, but it seemed like she could offer nothing besides a physical explanation, and Eagle didn't want to hurt her by forcing her to experience it again in her mind. It seemed that she didn't know why Hawke had done this either.

For now, Eagle had to make do with being a comfort to her, and that would do, he thought, as he held Jess silently, reassuring her that she was safe by his presence, hoping that she understood that he would never let them separated like that again, and that, as a comrade, he would always protect her.

Some hours later, Eagle finally left. Jess had settled back into a fitful sleep some time before, and Eagle had felt it was his duty somehow not to leave her alone in her present condition.

As he walked away from the room, Sonja trotted up behind him, and tapped him on the shoulder,

"Eagle, I'm sorry that I've kept everything so secret, but I didn't want to let anyone form their own conclusions about Jess' treatment before I knew all the facts. I let you in just now as you, of all people, had every right to see her, as one of the people who brought her back here. Also, although I'm not sure I should tell you this, she did ask to see you.

Anyway, I don't want to keep you in the dark anymore. I sadly can't say anything for certain yet, but I wanted to let you know what I have speculated so far, although I cannot say that it is definitely all true. Eagle, I need your advice, and your help. Would you please come with me"

With that, Sonja set off to her study, and Eagle followed. Upon arriving, she dismissed the guards in the area and stood by a bookcase, fixing her eyes on something out of the window, while Eagle sat down in a comfortable armchair. She breathed deeply, almost, Eagle thought, with a sigh, and began,

"I was able to decode the information that Adder retrieved from the Black Hole mainframe, and it has provided some answers, but, given the circumstances, I would rather not have found out about it. I feel I should relate to you the whole story.

You will, of course, remember the clone of Andy that attacked you before the first invasion formally began. Sturm had been able to create this clone despite having never had an access to Andy. Without a sample of Andy's DNA, Sturm had been able to create a new CO.

The differences in the clone Andy's personality and tactics demonstrated that the two were not genetically identical, but just very similar. Sturm had managed to build a CO close to Andy from scratch. The research journals in the data you retrieved show that this success was due to years of genetic research, along with trial and error.

Even after all of this, the clone Andy was still beaten in battle by the real Andy. It's clear that the experiment was only a partial success, but it set a worrying precedent.

Sturm's own entries into the records show that he basically gave up on the creation of COs using completely original genetic information after the clone Andy was beaten. After the first invasion, his entries have a fanatical tone to them, and begin to show an extreme desire to seize hold of the COs that beat him, and use their own genetic information to create a CO that would destroy them all. Again, his vengeance was going to be bitterly ironic.

However, first he needed to capture COs. We have seen him doing that before, but we never realised it. Not just Adder capturing Jess in this invasion, but also, as you will remember, when you had to free Sami from Adder during the second invasion, when she was surrounded. She had been asked to surrender. Also, as you might not be aware, Adder was sent to Blue Moon during the second invasion with overwhelming numbers of tanks to recruit Grit. Given Jess' fate, it seems lucky that he declined the invitation, and then went on to crush Adder's entire medium tank contingent with a vastly outnumbered taskforce"

"So, that was their aim all the time. I don't understand. First the White Sun, and now this. Why did Sturm two plans?"

"The White Sun is only a weapon. A weapon isn't much use without a master. Sturm, although quite insane by the end, had the wit to see that he couldn't live forever, just as Hawke has certainly grasped. Sturm's plan was to bring the most powerful weapon in existence under Black Hole's control, as well as creating a successor, a CO powerful enough to crush all opposition, one that was worthy of Sturm's title, as he saw it. Sturm had a grudging respect for us"

"What happened to Jess? Why did Hawke do that to her?"

"He needed blood. Genetic manipulation is apparently a fairly imprecise business. Blood particles break down fairly quickly unless frozen, so it seems that Hawke needed to collect a fresh sample everyday to continue his studies, filling in gaps in the genetic code"

"But what did Hawke want with Jess? We've seen that Hawke still has Sturm's body, and Sturm's ground units were far more powerful that Jess'. Anyway, the girl is quite staggering inept in battle. Why would Hawke want to use her DNA?" Eagle said, seeming to be quite happy to be insulting Jess again, now that she was safe.

"You are right, Eagle. Sturm's raw power is almost certainly the reason that Hawke had preserved his body, but firepower is not the reason for capturing Jess"

"Then what did they want her for?"

"I believe that they wanted her unique abilities"

"Ha! What can that girl do that a well trained monkey can't?"

"Eagle, you should be aware of this. In the second invasion, you and Hawke clashed in the skies several times. What was your biggest advantage over him?"

"My astounding skill, power and intelligence"

"Apart from those" said Sonja, sighing

"The fact that my air units burnt less fuel than his. While his were forced to return to their airfields to refuel, I could keep fighting"

"And what is Jess' most unique ability, aside from whatever insult you were about to make"

"The ability to refuel units without APCs being nearby. A feat requiring some organisational prowess, I should imagine. But that girl can't use air units. She is just so ignorant. I can fight well with infantry, on the ground and in the skies, and Jess can do nothing except fight on the ground. It's so limited"

"Maybe so, but what if that single ability could be extracted from her, and implanted into a CO with the same firepower as Hawke. Imagine a powerful navy or airforce capable of traversing any distance without any need to refuel or restock ammunition"

"True, if that were to happen then we would be in trouble, but it can't. I may not know much about genetics, but I know that what you are describing is impossible. Jess' ability to refuel is nothing to do with her genetics. She learnt how to do it from her training and from practice"

"Unfortunately not. You are right in what you have said, but it is not that simple. Firstly, given that she has this ability and nobody else does, it is only common sense to say that she will possess certain genes, predisposing her to having the prospect of developing this gift.

As for training and practice, that is not beyond Hawke's reach either. Memories, knowledge, insight, all these things are ultimately chemicals in her brain, and those can definitely be copied. I've spoken to Jess about her experiences, and several of the ordeals she underwent before the… procedures in that room began seem to involve brain scans of various descriptions. I wish it weren't true, but it seems that my theory is correct"

"Then we were lucky to extract her before Hawke could finish his work"

"Unfortunately, you were not in time for that. I am quite sure that her DNA had already been mapped completely, since the official records from the base scheduled Jess for termination that evening. Hawke had already finished with her"

"So, what is going to happen now? What exactly is Hawke going to do with the information he now has?"

"I'm not quite sure yet. There is one more piece of the puzzle, and that is what I need your help with, if that is okay with you, anyway"

"Sonja, there one more thing…"

"Go on"

"Hawke called out my name several times. The units were ordered to shoot to kill the other COs, but not me. If Hawke possesses adequate firepower in the skies, and Jess' abilities allow him to refuel mid-battle, then what does he want me for?"

"I'm afraid that I don't know. However, it gives us one advantage. We know that Hawke will not kill you under any circumstance"

Eagle nodded, and the two COs left the room, Sonja offering him no further explanation. As they strolled briskly down a corridor with a marble floor, Sonja said,

"Sami told me about Adder's reaction to the room that Jess cannot bring herself to talk about. I began to suspect that Adder too was locked away in order for Hawke to map his DNA as well. I have a theory as to why, but first I must clarify something with Adder himself, then I will tell you the rest of my conclusions"

They reached Adder's cell, the scents of fresh wild flowers floating through the prison complex, while Adder's personal minstrel, which Sonja had promised to get him if he answered all her questions after rescuing Jess, which he sadly had, was skipping around the grey prison complex with a lute, performing his epic poem, the Adderium, about the daring deeds of mighty Adder. The minstrel seemed to be starting again,

"Sing to me Muse of the rage of Adder, whose wrath laid low many continents, but especially Green Earth, and by which fury many fine warriors, their knees collapsed, bit the dust, but especially Eagle…"

Sonja, ordering the poet to be quiet, unlocked and opened the door, cries of 'Kneel before Adder!' not putting her off. The white faced CO turned to them,

"Oh, just what my day needs. My two favourite COs have come to visit. The prince of the skies and the scheming know-it-all"

"Adder, I don't need much information out of you, but if you don't answer then you're getting instant coffee tomorrow morning, do you understand?"

A look of horror flashed over Adder's pallid face,

"Inhuman monster! Fine, ask your little question and get out!"

"Adder, I want you to tell me about your childhood"

"If you don't have any serious questions…"

"Adder, I'm not joking. Tell me about your youth or I'll arrange for a plebeian to prepare your meals for a week"

"I prefer not to talk about it my formative years. It has no significance"

"Tell me about your parents. What were they like?"

"I… I… both my parents died when I was baby. I never knew either of them"

"Where did you go to school?"

"Not that it concerns you, but… Black Hole military academy"

"And who was your best friend while you were there?"

"Oh, this is ridiculous!" yelled Adder, beads of sweat clearly on his brow

"Adder!" yelled Eagle

"Steve! Steve was my best friend! Happy? Now get out! I feel tired!"

"Of course" said Sonja quietly, quickly stepping out of the cell, followed by Eagle, who watched Adder curling up on his bed, facing away from them.

As they walked back to Sonja's study, Eagle said,

"Didn't that all seem a little strange to you"

"Yes, but that was the point. I suspected that he might answer like that, and, if I'm right, everything is starting to fit together"

They arrived back at Sonja's study, and Sonja continued,

"Adder told you that everyone below the Commanding Officers was created by Sturm or Hawke, that the whole army beneath the leaders were clones of some description or another. I am now quite confident that it goes deeper than that. Adder said that Sturm liked to play God. His army was made entirely of Black Hole citizens. So, what did he create?"

"The Black Hole COs"

"Yes. He created his COs through genetic manipulation, and when Hawke took over, but created a grand new army with the same techniques that he inherited from Sturm's research. Now they have all been artificially created. I will tell you the whole story, as I see it.

Hawke was created by Sturm to be the ultimate CO, and Sturm's successor. It is not hard to see it, if you look carefully. Hawke is made of a combination of three batches of DNA. Firstly, his increased attack power with all units is very similar to Sturm's higher attack strength with all troops. Sturm's influence can also be seen through his personality; his superiority complex and tireless search for revenge, even though Hawke personally has nothing to get revenge for.

The second batch of genetic information was used to make his CO power. The clone Andy, although a failure, was able to repair its units, and this ability was transferred to Hawke, allowing him to heal units while using Black Wave.

The final batch of DNA was original, and produced by Sturm. It was this DNA that gave Hawke the ability to use Black Wave as an offensive weapon. But, Sturm's research notes suggest that it is not coincidence that Hawke is able to amplify his power through the White Sun. Sturm knew what he wanted to do with it, if he could find it, and made Hawke ready, not just as a CO and successor, but as a key of sorts, that would allow Sturm to use the White Sun.

The irony is that the slave destroyed the master. The mere key took the life of Sturm, and took over his mission for him, assuming control of the task that he was, perhaps, just a pawn in"

"Why are we finding out all of this now? Why has he invaded to retrieve the White Sun and capture all of us after so many years of inactivity?"

"Hawke is running out of time. He is dying"

"Why?"

"It would seem that Sturm's perfect CO and successor was not like as flawless as he thought. Hawke has been trying to ascertain a way of keeping himself alive, so far without success, but his own notes have shown me what is happening.

His DNA is starting to deteriorate. It is perhaps an inevitable result of being the product of a fusion of genetic information, a process without precedent, as far as I know"

"How long has this been happening?"

"Quite some time. It began several years ago"

"Why haven't we noticed him getting weaker then?"

"We have, but we didn't know it. He hasn't used Black Storm throughout this invasion. Such an exertion might weaken him fatally"

"How is he still alive?"

"You are aware that he can heal his units with Black Wave. Well, he has also been using it to heal himself, up until now. However, he was only delaying the inevitable"

"That's how he survived Grit's ambush in Blue Moon? And how he can stand up to a hail of bullets?"

"Yes, but not in the way that we thought. The Black Wave doesn't block the bullet. The bullet hits his hand, but the Black Wave heals it instantly, like any wound he receives"

"I saw his hand. It was covered in wounds, not healed"

"Even wounds that have recovered leave scars"

"The bullets didn't hurt him… I saw his face… he didn't even flinch as we put gunfire into his chest"

"We knew that nothing would stop him from achieving his goals. I doubt the pain troubles him when he's aware that his very genetic code is breaking up"

"Is this what Hawke's laboratories are for?"

"Given Sturm's presence there, yes"

"But, how could it be? They've only been in Green Earth for such a short time"

"You know that Black Hole can build with remarkable speed and efficiency. They must have moved their research here when they came"

"Fine, but what does all of this have to do with Hawke's successor?"

"My apologies. I'm getting side-tracked. Still, it is useful for you to know this. The point is that Sturm tried to create an ultimate CO by mixing brute strength with useful abilities. The problem that Sturm failed to take into account was that a combination of powers, the healing capability and offensive potential of Black Wave, meant that it takes time to charge up.

We are all aware that Hawke's power takes longer to charge than anyone else's skills by far. It would appear that, while Hawke could keep adding powers theoretically forever, every single new ability increases the amount of time required to actually use those powers, and a faculty that never gets used is rather pointless.

This is where Adder came into Hawke's plan. He was locked away for his curious ability that could have made him exceedingly useful. Adder can, of course, charge up his power far more quickly than anyone else. If that ability were to be transferred into a CO with many incredible skills, then they would truly be unstoppable.

This could well have been the reason for Adder's presence in the Black Hole army for so long, despite consistent failures in battles, psychotic tendencies, unjustifiable complacency in his aptitude, as well as what must have been to Hawke a most unwelcome part of his personality, given that he created the clone army to ensure loyalty, a subversive belief in his destiny to rule, and an independent and self-interested preoccupation.

Sturm created Adder as a vessel for the DNA that would allow him to create his successor. Hawke must have realised this as well. That was why I went to see Adder. His answers seemed vague because he was making them up. Adder had no childhood. He was grown in a tube, and indoctrinated. He has no life except that which Sturm created for him. It would seem that he might well know that he is the result of genetic experimentation, but his bluffed answers and ardour to avoid the subject suggest a man in denial.

Given Adder's physical deformities, it is not unreasonable to suggest that Adder was created by accident while Sturm was playing God, and one that, despite everything that was wrong with him, Sturm gave life to.

I believe that the other COs were also produced. Lash is far too young to be as intelligent as she is, strongly suggesting genetic tampering, as well as later modifications to her body to increase her brainpower, such unnatural growth inadvertently causing her deranged behaviour and lack of conscience. She was probably created purely to invent weapons for Sturm.

Flak however seems too incompetent to have been an intentional creation. He know that he was originally a private, so he was not meant to be a CO. Something must have gone wrong with him, giving him immense offensive potential, but exceedingly limited mental abilities. He was promoted by Hawke, who probably chose to do so as Flak's offensive abilities combined with him being easy to control was probably very desirable.

I heard that you couldn't bring yourself to kill the clones aboard the Heavy Tank. Well, perhaps you will now take a more favourable view of Adder. Just as the clones are the victims of Hawke's ambitions, so the Black Hole COs are the victims of Sturm's. Adder was created as a vicious and treacherous man. It truly is in his nature. That is why Lash feels no guilt for what she does. Just as the clones are the unwitting servants of Black Hole, and so are blameless, so are the Black Hole COs the unwitting servants of Sturm. He made Lash to be vicious, and let no guilt conflict with her desire to create new weapons. It isn't her fault. Everything that has happened is Sturm's fault, and now we must do what we can to undo his legacy.

Sturm must have had some purpose in mind when he created them all, but now that he is dead, his slaves live on, and try to follow their own path. If we can do away with this third invasion, this Black Hole regime, then it will be over. With the source of all evil, Sturm, gone, all we must do is finish off his children, and then there will be peace"

"But… if all of this isn't Adder's own fault in any way… he is quite certain that he will go back and take over after Hawke"

"That troubles me as well. We can't let him go. This is our chance to pacify Black Hole for good. Adder may have to be the sacrificial lamb for the sake of peace"

Eagle sighed. He hated Adder, but he didn't want to kill him. But, for the sake of thousands of lives that could be saved by averting a future war, he would personally put a knife through his white skin and into his black heart. Eagle continued,

"When should we take action?"

"We don't have the luxury of choosing. The information that you retrieved suggests that the White Sun will be ready within two weeks. Our army is the strongest it has ever been. We must make our final preparations and depart as soon as possible"

"What are we going up against?"

"Your recent foray into Hawke's inner sanctuary has panicked him. He has withdrawn huge numbers of troops to the White Sun itself, and to his own base. It may also be an attempt to break our alliance"

"How?"

"I am confident that we could take back either Blue Moon or Yellow Comet right now, but the numbers still defending each country mean that by the time we liberated either territory, the White Sun would be complete. We have to hit Hawke with everything we have before the White Sun is ready, or else we'll never be able to destroy it. Since Hawke is on the defence, we have no fear of invasion. We can send every unit we possess against the Black Hole army"

"I will start making preparations immediately"

"Excellent. I shall call a meeting, and relate everything to the others. I just felt that I owed you enough to tell you everything first, in case you thought I was… hiding things for you"

"You still blame yourself for what happened to Jess?"

"I… I had to see what had happened to her. I… I now know what could have happened. I had a part in that attack, and I was playing with your lives. This time, I will be on the front lines with you. I will face the brunt of the enemies' attack with my men"

With that, Sonja marched out of the room, leaving a bemused Eagle still seated. He smiled. She had seen the true cost of war. She had grown up.


	18. Raising the Paean

__

Hey all, sorry this took so long to appear! Between exams and writing out rough plans and drafts for the ever elusive original story, I have been making slow progress, but this will hopefully be worth the wait, not least for two long awaited confrontations…! Anyway, read, enjoy, review, Foulds

Almost two weeks later, the largest army that had ever existed, except, of course, for the swarming horde that had driven them from their lands already, moved ever onwards. The army, having crossed the sea without event, were now close by to the site of the White Sun.

They had spent days moving slowly through Green Earth's grassy dales, slowed down by the pace of the infantry, most of whom lacked transport units, and by the need to keep refuelling air units. Encampment itself and the decampment during the next morning took a great amount of time to organise.

Green Earth was naturally mountainous in this region, the reason that they had been unable to even catch a glance at the state of the White Sun, although this kept them as hidden as a huge army consisting significantly of air units could be. Sonja had been expecting a preliminary strike by Hawke, but no resistance had been met, and several towns had been liberated on the journey, nominally only since they were completely abandoned.

She guessed with hindsight that this was somewhat predictable. It wouldn't take much firepower to destroy an ancient weapon which couldn't defend itself. A single hit would render it inoperative. Hawke couldn't chance sending out the troops he would need to have a hope against the alliance if there was even a chance that a small strike force could ambush his precious weapon in their absence.

He must have summoned every unit in Green Earth either to his base or to the excavation site. True, that wasn't a good thing, but at least it ensured that the army arrived at their destination in one piece, in full order, and with high spirits, since not a single man had suffered the death of a friend.

They were approaching the valley that the weapon was in. The geography was exactly as she had noted before, as reconnaissance units that had gone ahead reported back to her. Anti aircraft emplacements to prevent a bombing run over the mountains, tall solid walls around the outer perimeter of the main site, buildings within the perimeter all the way around, the same black towers she remembered.

On her command, the army had stopped as she recalled all her scouting units, and made final preparations. Hawke would certainly be aware of them by now, but that was inconsequential. He wouldn't dare launch an attack on them while they were this far from the base, just in case. His tactics were defensive. With a numerically superior force, a wall of troops well supported by indirect fire was impenetrable, but victory was not the alliance's aim, just the destruction of the weapon.

As she had requested, the COs gathered at the front of the army, present with sub commanders. Every CO was there, even the weak bodied Jess. Doctors had forbidden it, but she had been quite insistent. She was unfit to command, and confined to a wheelchair while the muscle in her back healed, but her presence had certainly been an inspiring sight to those that she had passed. Her bravery lent them all strength. Adder too was present, together with a full entourage of servants, poets and hair stylists, along with two crates of purple hair dye that he vehemently stressed were solely for his highlights.

The COs muttered to each other, standing on a grassy mound, as the sun began to disperse the early morning haze and scatter the clouds. If anyone could take consolation from the fact, then it would be a beautiful day. An armoured jeep slowly pulled up in front of them, and Sonja hopped out from the passenger seat and climbed onto the bonnet. The COs fell quiet without needing to be asked. The girl looked around and began,

"I have finished gathering all the intel that we need for the battle. Hawke's forces are drawn up quite close to the White Sun. His army has been divided into three parts. The first part of the army is approximately a quarter of their forces. It is mainly assembled out of tanks and indirect fire units. It is on the right of the battlefield as we approach the White Sun. Intelligence suggests that Flak is in command of this force, which is why it has a fairly simple composition, although it is still very strong.

The second part of their force is made of another quarter of their forces. This force is far more varied. Many types of unit are involved, including the fairly small number of air units that Hawke has at his disposal here. It is on the left of the battlefield as we approach the White Sun. Intelligence suggests that Lash is in control of this force. The major worry is that the left side of the battlefield is lined with a dense forest that conceals large parts of the area from view. Lash has almost certainly concealed units in the forests, but we can do the same.

These two forces are significantly far apart and, even though we are in the base of a valley, there will be significant potential for manoeuvring and attempting to outflank the enemy, since the area is fairly wide. As for actual numbers, I cannot say for certain, but the army appears to be not greatly larger than our own"

"Sonja," said Sensei, "I was under the impression that Hawke had recalled every unit to this place. Why is the opposition so weak, at least compared to what we were told to expect?"

"Hawke called all his units to two places. Here, and his base, where his successor is being created. It seems from the numbers involved that Hawke values his successor far more than this weapon, although it must be said that we still cannot win in a straight battle here. We have to destroy the White Sun and escape"

"What about the third part of the army?" asked Eagle impatiently

"That is not so good" replied Sonja, "The remaining part of the army, making up about half of their total numbers, is further back, guarding the White Sun in case a small force can break through either of the two armies that are further forwards to engage us. They are Hawke's personal troops"

"Hawke is on the battlefield?" asked Eagle

"No, but the men were trained by him, and are under the authority of his sub commanders. While he is not present, those forces will still be extremely hard to fight against. I cannot count out that they might charge forwards and join either Flak's or Lash's force to overwhelm us, but I find it unlikely. It seems ridiculous that he would be prudent enough to not engage us over our entire journey here, fearing that we might sneak up on him, and then charge forwards rashly as soon as there are enemy units near to his precious weapon"

"Faced with such strength" continued Eagle, "how exactly will we destroy this White Sun?"

"We have three advantages in the battle. Firstly, we have the greater strength in the skies by far, simply as Hawke lacks sufficient means of refuelling in this area. Secondly, the two forces that are further forwards have a large gap between them, making it exceedingly unlikely that they could provide reinforcements to each other, but we should be able to do this. Finally, the Black Hole armies appear to be drawn up in tight formations. It gives them strength, but also makes them inflexible. They can either move slowly or break their lines, giving us the advantage in terms of manoeuvrability. If we focus all out strength on one part of the lines, we can win there and push Black Hole backwards"

"If there is such a gap between the armies, since all we need to do is hit the White Sun once, and as we have superiority in the skies already, why not send every bomber we have against the White Sun?" enquired Eagle

"Sadly, we can't. Hawke is aware of the weapon's vulnerability for now, so he has set up static anti aircraft emplacements all around the White Sun. This, combined with the firepower from Hawke's personal troops, would stop any bomber getting through"

"Then let's just send the whole army through the rather large gap through his defences and assault the White Sun with all our strength"

"This is also a bad idea. Flak and Lash would surround us before we could fight our way through. True, we could well destroy the White Sun, it is quite likely in fact, but if we are surrounded with no retreat by a superior force then we will certainly all die in battle, and then Hawke's remaining forces at his base will be unopposed. Sadly, victory today is not enough. We must keep enough troops in tact to take out Hawke's remaining forces in battle. A charge is not a good idea with this in mind"

"So how can we win then?" demanded the prince of the skies

"Grit is the key to this battle. I have spoken to him already, and several rocket units have been specifically modified to possess range even further beyond what he would normally be capable of. They are lacking slightly in power, but that is unnecessary in this situation. If we can push the two frontal armies back enough, Grit should be able to win us this battle before Hawke's forces know that there is any threat"

"Speaking of Hawke," said Sensei, "where is he, if not on the battlefield?"

"A small squadron of intel gathering troops on a nearby mountain have provided the answer to that question. Now that the White Sun has been extracted, a small chamber has been suspended by metal cables within the excavation crater, directly underneath the centre of the White Sun. He is there.

The information that Adder and Eagle retrieved from the Black Hole mainframe has given me a much clearer idea of how the White Sun will work with Hawke's modifications. Now, if it pleases you all, kindly get into one of the armoured jeeps and follow me. It would be exceedingly useful for you all to see this personally"

Sonja, followed by the others, climbed into the Yellow Comet recon units, which then slowly scaled the fairly steep sides of the ridge that was in front of them. Arriving at the peak of a ridge after some time, Sonja's reconnaissance crafts stopped shortly before the very summit, as she had prearranged with the drivers. She got out and led the others ominously forwards, on her hands and knees, just like the last time she had been here.

The COs looked down over the valley that had been just out of sight before and, shocked by the scale of what they saw, a sight that silenced even Sonja, the only one who had known what to expect, they lay on the cold ground, staring out over the monstrously formidable force before them.

The most imposing thing, however, was the entity that had urged Hawke to mount this invasion, and which had now compelled the COs to bring their armies to this conquered land. Once, long ago, thought Sonja, maybe Sturm, a normal man, had lay down where they were and seen this same sight.

The White Sun stood before them.

Far away in the valley, far beyond the Black Hole armies that opposed them, stood the same dark grey towers that Sonja remembered from her first visit here, but now their purpose was all too clear. Lying upon the topmost stones, crowning the sinister turrets, was the weapon that Sturm had gone mad searching for.

A huge stone ring, nearly as wide as the valley itself, now rested on the towers that supported its massive bulk. The ring, buried for hundreds, maybe thousands of years seemed untouched by age, indifferent to its generations spent in the darkness, its white surface ornately decorated, glinting outwards in the sunlight.

However, Black Hole did not let this perfect relic stand untarnished by their lust for power and death. The outer face was covered with patches and strips of black metal, parts of Lash's adjustment to the weapon. In the very centre, a black ball glowed as it hovered silently and motionlessly, a terrifying sight to the five COs that had been in Hawke's base. As the COs stared incredulously at the exceptional sight, Sonja began to speak,

"The original White Sun, as I've mentioned before, drew its power from the sun. That is what the facing on the outside of the ring is for. It can absorb sunlight. The next step would be for the light to be focussed into the centre of the weapon, where Hawke's Black Vortex is presently being charged. It would stay there as the forces around it were in perfect balance; the energy could not escape in any direction. When they wanted to fire the weapon, the White Sun people would somehow disengage the mechanism that took in the sunlight. The lack of anything holding back the huge amounts of charged energy would release the wave of intense charged light very rapidly, setting off a chain reaction.

Hawke is performing a similar operation now. He is passing Black Wave energy into the weapon and letting it charge up. The purpose of Lash's modifications are to stop it being released. She has created an energy field around the White Sun that is allowing it to store Hawke's energy until he is ready to release it. I am not sure how he is going to do that exactly, but the weapon is not fully charged yet, so we don't have to worry too much about it for now. If we hit it now, we should be able to stop it. But it is close to being ready, so we must attack today"

"Sonja," began Sensei, "I thought Hawke was dying, and too weak even to use Black Storm. How exactly is he charging this weapon of his?"

"That is what the platform underneath the White Sun is for. If you look closely, you might see a very thin black line rising up from the mining site into the Black Vortex. Hawke is the source of that. He is passing huge amounts of energy through his body and, by this process, converting it into Black Wave energy. He cannot store it in his body for later use, and it is probably doing far more harm than good to him. This is the source of the Black Vortex.

As for destroying it, if we can break the White Sun's physical structure then the mechanism that sets off the chain reaction will be broken, and the energy should dissipate into the atmosphere harmlessly. The one thing we have to avoid is disturbing the charging sequence. If an energy wave of an opposing charge enters the Black Vortex, then the chain reaction will be triggered inwards, and the whole complex will be destroyed. It may sound like a good thing, but it will almost certainly hit our troops as well"

"This is too dangerous!" declared Eagle, "I loathe to suggest this, but if that thing might be ready to fire shortly, perhaps we should fall back to where we will be safe. Hawke won't be able to move that thing. Let us focus our efforts on evacuating Green Earth citizens and face him where he hasn't got a weapon of mass destruction pointing at us"

"A noble sacrifice, Eagle, but a futile one. Hawke will, left to his own devices, simply continue to charge his weapon. If he dies, his successor will continue the work. Eventually, it will be powerful enough to strike us even in Orange Star territory. We must strike at it now.

But before we have to worry about that, we have to get past that army. As you can see, Black Hole has already drawn up its lines. As Hawke is so close to charging his weapon to a level where he could fire it with devastating effect, it is unlikely he will take the offensive, as he will be playing for time. All we have to do is focus our attacks and push them back. Having studied unit types at our and their disposal, it seems to me that the best course of action is for Orange Star and Green Earth to take on Flak, while Yellow Comet and Blue Moon attack Lash"

The other COs agreed, and they climbed back into the recon units and were driven back down to the base of the ridge. The army advanced through the narrow pass, and split up, Yellow Comet and Blue Moon heading left, drawing up opposite the sneaky and conniving tactics of Lash, while Orange Star and Green Earth faced the intimidating brute force of Flak.

The armies stood opposite each other, some distance apart. Neither side moved in the silent valley. The alliance was terrified by the numbers that it faced, Black Hole had no desire to speed proceedings up, just as Hawke had already ordered.

On the left of the field, cunning Sonja was drawing up her units in complicated formations, as Sensei stood beside her. The two were standing near the left flank of their army, while Kanbei alone commanded the right flank. Blue Moon was in control of indirect fire, naturally, as well as support and reinforcements, and so their COs were further back. Sonja turned to Sensei,

"If Lash is going to use these forest, we must not let the advantage slip away from us. Our entire indirect fire contingent has been concealed inside the woods. I don't know what Lash has got hidden, but she won't reveal it until she needs to"

Sonja looked forwards. She saw a cluster of bombers circling over the Black Hole front lines. They were ready to go, and pilots, being unable to just settle down and rest like drivers on the ground, detested inactivity; Sonja knew that much from Eagle during the first invasion.

She knew exactly what she would have done in former times. All that was needed to tempt forwards air units was a single exposed unit. They would leap at the chance to attack something. They would charge forwards and run straight into missile range. It was so easy. One sacrifice equalled a huge advantage. So why couldn't she order the one infantry squadron forwards? Sensei looked at her, and saw the hesitation and confusion on her face,

"Sonja, you must have seen Black Hole's air squadrons by now. That is almost their entire airforce. If we can take it out now, we will have given ourselves a great advantage, and helped our allies, as well as protecting our own men"

"Master Sensei… I… I can't do it. I can't do any of this anymore. I can't send a man forwards to face bombers. It's unthinkable"

"Sonja, do you honestly think that anybody will ever be able to fight a war without suffering the agony of a single casualty? In my prime, men still died. It is the cost of war. It is a terrible cost, you are not alone in seeing that, and it is a most unpleasant and destructive process, but I know from a lifetime of seeing many terrible things that it must be done"

"I can't do it!" yelled Sonja, "None of these men, units under my command, my responsibility, have done anything to deserve to be sent to die!"

"Sonja, look around you. These men chose to join up to the Yellow Comet Army. They chose to put themselves under your command. Do you think that they have all come here thinking that they will survive? How do you think that they'd feel if they knew that you, having led them to a battle to stop the most powerful weapon ever created falling into a tyrant's hands, held them back in case a single man died. They are all ready to die for their country, and for freedom, and if you won't make sacrifices for the sake of what they believe in and volunteered to protect, then you have betrayed them, your father and yourself"

"None of these men volunteered to come and die! They volunteered to come and fight! Sending tanks forwards with the object of destroying something and suffering losses, that is something we have to live with! Sending men forwards with no hope of achieving anything, their only purpose being to die, is both an abuse of my position of trust and morally abhorrent! Any of these men could have a wife or children! I can't just kill them, I don't have the right to make that choice!"

"True, men will die. How many wives and children will go into mourning if those bombers attack our front lines? Five men will die, but they, by their deaths, will save many more"

A new look of clarity appeared on Sonja's face. She turned to the wise orator who had taught her father, and now taught her,

"Of course Master Sensei. I understand what I must do. Please, take an APC to the missile arrays in the forest. Your experience and skills will be far more use with them than they could be here"

Sensei kissed the girl on the forehead and climbed into the APC unaided, still showing an energetic athleticism despite his age. Sonja watched him go and then said after him, not speaking to anyone in particular,

"I do not have the right to dictate who should live and die. I think I can see it all now. My father always fights on the front lines. He always speaks of sharing the fates of his men. That is what he meant. He would not make any man undergo anything that he would not. My father learnt how to be a strong CO by experience. I must do the same. Master Sensei, I am sorry. Father, you too must forgive me, but I have no choice but to break a promise that I made to you long ago"

The girl, still inexperienced in the true ways of war, called over a soldier and ordered a T-copter to be brought to her.

Within a few minutes, Sonja flew forwards towards the Black Hole lines in the T-copter. She was sitting in the back, alongside a unit of elite infantry, just as her father would have done. She called through to the pilot,

"Set down here. We're close enough"

The T-copter slowly descended and settled down on the ground, a long stretch of land separating the lonely group from either army. She had no right to choose which man lived or died, but she had every right to choose her own fate. These men were not sacrifices. As soon as the airforce began to approach, they would all retreat. The air units would launch a pursuit, and Sonja would lead them straight into Sensei's sights. It was a plan that was morally respectable.

The men hopped out, closely followed by the nervous CO. She didn't like doing this at all, but she had to. The six waited in the open air as the gentle breeze and distant buzz of aircraft were their only companions.

Little did Sonja suspect how much attention was focussed on her. Deep behind the Black Hole lines, well protected, a small girl was approached by a masked soldier,

"Mistress Lash, we've spotted CO Sonja between the two armies. She isn't doing anything. What should we do?"

"This is why I'm a genius, and you're a sub commander. She's trying to tempt those air units forwards with an exposed infantry squadron. Why do you think I put those air units there in the first place? I knew she'd try and do that"

"So should we send the airforce after them, Mistress Lash?"

"Oh! You're so annoying and stupid! She's set a trap! But I've set a trap for her as well! She'll have missiles pointing at that area, so we send in ground forces and they won't stand a chance!"

"They have a T-copter, Mistress Lash, they'll retreat if you send out a strike force"

"I have tanks stationed just inside the woods for this purpose. They have orders to take out any escape craft first. Go and send the order for them to move"

"Yes Mistress Lash" said the soldier as he ran out.

"Oh, poor little Sonja!" giggled Lash, "Why so foolish as to expose yourself? You can't outwit me! Oh, this will be so much fun! I used to play with you as a playmate, and now I get to play with you as a toy!"

Meanwhile, Sonja was beginning to feel more afraid. Did her father make mistakes sometimes? Had he ever charged forwards in a daring attempt to achieve something only to sit awkwardly in an empty field for ten minutes and then retreat and never tell anyone it had happened? The girl turned to the captain of the unit of infantry that she had with her,

"Captain, I think this wasn't a great idea. Let's return to…"

Sonja was not allowed to finish. As she looked at the man in front of her, a deafening clatter erupted behind them, the source obscured by the T-copter. The barrage of fire knocked the T-copter sideways. The engines started as the men charged towards it, trying to find cover. Sonja didn't move. She couldn't. Barely aware of what was happening, she was partially mindful of being picked up by one of the men.

Four of the men were crouched behind the evacuation craft, leaning out and firing whenever they could, as tanks, now visible to Sonja in huge numbers, began to move closer and spread out around the stricken helicopter. As she was carried to the relative safety, she was knocked back by the sudden explosion. The fuel tank of the T-copter must have been hit. The soldier carrying her was slammed to the ground, letting her fall backwards, and the last thing she remembered before jamming her eyes closed was the look of fear, terror, pain, suffering, loss, helplessness on the faces of the men that she had brought out here.

As she opened her eyes, and got to her feet, she looked to see the man that had tried to carry her to safety lying motionless. His yellow uniform was sullied by blood and black dust. Faced with no choice, she scrambled on her knees to the burning wreckage of the T-copter, since it was the only cover in the empty pasture. Crouching behind a piece of jagged metal, she watched the tanks move ever closer, now not firing, perhaps believing that she was already dead.

Sonja looked either side of her. Torn and burnt remains made her flinch and close her eyes, falling completely to the ground, wanting to be sick. The men had never stood a chance. No infantry force could resist tanks. But they had tried anyway. They had been faced with death, and they had charged anyway, unafraid. These men hadn't been afraid to die. Sonja cast her eyes to the floor. She had realised her folly too late, for these men, and for herself.

These men had died fighting. So would she. She looked around. A discarded rifle lay on the floor by her feet. She had undergone basic training before specialising in intelligence duties. She picked the rifle up and calmly reloaded it. She picked herself up and rested the firearm on a piece of metal. She would not die with a fight.

As soon as she had revealed her presence, another onslaught was launched by the tanks, as her random and ill aimed fire bounced harmlessly off the heavy armour. She got her wish to share the fate of her men. A bullet struck her in the right shoulder, tearing through her young flesh. The impact knocked the weapon from her hands and threw her back onto the ground.

Tired and in burning pain, she turned her head slowly to face her right arm. Her shoulder poured out dark blood onto the lush grass and her right arm twitched involuntarily as she tried to move it. So, she thought, this was it. This was how hundreds, maybe thousands of men had ended their lives because of her commands. It was painful. So why could she understand why they would do it? Why did it suddenly seem a noble thing to die in an attempt, however vain, to stop Black Hole?

The thought gave her strength. The tanks had stopped now, well spread out, ready to continue if they needed to. Sonja struggled to her feet, supporting her shoulder as best she could with her right hand, her strength almost exhausted. She smiled. She wouldn't need strength where she was going. She yelled one final last defiant statement at the tanks opposite her,

"You can never understand this Lash, but this is a beautiful thing. To die, choosing to give your life for a country you love and a way of life you love. These men gave their lives willingly to try and save me. I will happily lay down my life next to them!"

The tanks turned to face her, and their machine guns rose. Sonja closed her eyes, as tears silently dampened her cheeks, said,

"Father… I'm sorry"

The expected volley of gunfire never came. Instead the distinctive roar of crashing artillery shells filled the air. Tanks were scattered and torn apart as confusion broke up the well ordered tanks. Blue Moon B-copters rushed over the battlefield and put to flight whatever was left. Sonja looked around in a daze. How could they have hit them from so far away and with such power…?

Grit.

Sonja dived to the ground, her defiant last stand suddenly no longer her chosen course of action now that there was a chance of salvation, as a few tanks fired into the smouldering wreckage, hoping to accomplish their mission yet. A Blue Moon T-copter swooped down and hovered just above the ground right next to Sonja as the door was flung open. Sonja stumbled over to her saviour, struggling through her pain, and was helped onto the helicopter by two Blue Moon soldiers. She collapsed onto the metal floor, breathing heavily, as the T-copter sped back to safety. A few words floated across to Sonja's ears in a familiar and distinctive tone,

"Hey there darling, you ever heard of a little expression about playing with fire?"

Sonja didn't reply. Within a few minutes, they got back to the front lines of the Yellow Comet army, where Sonja was carried to a medic to patch up her wound. As the wound was cleaned, Grit, who had followed her, said,

"Sonja, there is not a soldier or CO in this army that does not have the greatest respect for you. In the second invasion, you were unbeatable. We could all see that you were the true strength behind your father. But something changed the moment that you faced Lash in Yellow Comet. Ever since then, you have been inconsistent and unpredictable. Your famed serenity under pressure was lost. War became morally unacceptable to you.

Sonja, when you were playing a game with pieces and tactics, you were invincible on the field of battle. If it is playing a game that allows you to command with confidence, and if it is playing with pieces on a chart that allows you command as well as you used to and keep as many pieces as possible in tact, then keep playing your war games, just as long as you keep sight of what you are doing.

I asked for a report of that battle with Lash. It may have been a game, but you lost very few units, and won a crushing victory. You certainly didn't throw away five good men for no reason, or risk your life unnecessarily.

For the good of your country, and this alliance, play a game with Lash, if it can allow you to win. Right now, you are on the road to losing, and dying. How many will die without your impartial command, unbiased by emotion?"

"You are right, Grit, truly right. I can see my folly now. Desperately trying to see the real cost of war has killed more men than if I was detached from the action. If Lash will sacrifice everything to win, then I cannot be squeamish over losing a single man to protect many more"

The medic finished closing the wound and Sonja declined further treatment for the moment, promising that she would have the injury properly operated on after the battle, but for now she was required elsewhere. She moved to her command centre with Grit, and looked out over the field. Lash's forces were starting to move forwards. Lash was clearly furious to have let Sonja escape, and was now going to crush them all, even if it would be with tactical prowess. Sonja turned to Grit,

"If Lash wants to play, then she has greatly underestimated me. It is time to win, just like last time"

With these words, the combined forces of Blue Moon and Yellow Comet pushed forwards and met the Black Hole army in pitched battle, neither side gaining the advantage as both armies moved with strategic expertise.

Meanwhile, on the right hand side of the battle, a furious Max, keen for battle, was arguing with Nell over the radio as the army continued to sit motionlessly. Eagle, though himself on the ground, was in control of the circling airforce, obviously, while Drake and Andy were further back in control of indirect fire and the reserves. Jess was with them, well out of harm's way, on Eagle's insistence. Sami was in control of the secondary forces, the infantry, although she was inside the command centre with Nell, who was overseeing the whole operation. Eagle, Sami and Nell were looking after Adder, himself efficiently pacified by a small mirror that they had brought with them for that exact purpose. Max himself was further forwards, right by the tanks on the front lines, desperate to get moving.

"Nell!" yelled Max into the radio, hoping that an increase in volume would persuade her, "Let's get going! I'll crush Flak! My tanks are stronger than his, I'm no show-off!"

"Max, calm down" replied Nell, "I have no doubt that your tanks could win in a fair and even battle, but try to remember that, for all his faults, Flak is better than you at indirect combat"

"I can't stand all this waiting around! Let's just fight him! We don't have the time to just wait; Hawke's almost got that thing ready!"

"Artillery and rocket units are drawn up too deeply behind his lines, and missiles are holding back Eagle. We have no choice but to use skirmish tactics. Andy and Drake will hit the front lines with our indirect fire force and try and draw Flak forwards"

"That will take too long! If we don't engage him fully, then Hawke will kill us all. At least in a battle we go down fighting! I'd rather die in a battle now than sit around and wait to be shot at later!"

"I concede that time is not on our side, but there is little choice. Flak has been ordered to hold his lines and keep the battle going for as long as possible. There's no other way to draw him forwards"

"You leave that to me, and be ready to charge!"

"Max, don't do anything rash, we…"

Max switched off the radio and put it to the ground. Without pause, hesitation or, perhaps, due thought, he ran forwards, past the lines of tanks, ignoring the cries of his sub commanders. He stopped in the empty grassland, far in front of his lines. Max always depended on himself. It was the only way he knew how to live. He was fiercely protective of his allies and would choose to fight any battle for them, even dying for them. And now, he was putting his life at risk for the sake of the alliance. Coming to a stop, he caught his breath and then bellowed,

"Hey, Flak! First time we met, you said that you'd crush me before the war was over! What happened then? You scared? Come on! I'm right here! Or are you too weak, hiding behind your little army? Coward!"

On the far side of the battlefield, Flak's response was quite simple. He turned to his sub commanders,

"Tanks go that way!" said Flak, pointing towards Max

"Commander?" replied a soldier

"Make tanks go forwards! Now!"

"Commander, the indirect units run on tyres, they can't keep up with the charge of the tanks. If we move forwards, we'll lose our advantage"

"We don't need them! Leave all those behind! Tanks are easier to use anyway!"

"Commander Flak, Commander Hawke did not give us authorisation to move from our formations. We were specifically ordered to…"

"Auth-or-is-a-tion?"

"Orders, sir"

"Who needs 'em! Let's just go!"

"Commander!" yelled another Black Hole soldier, identical to the first, who had just run in, "We've just got word from the reconnaissance units; they've spotted Adder in the opponent's command centre. It's not too far back from the front lines"

"Adder!" yelled Flak, a simplistic smile spreading across his face, "Adder's my friend! And Hawke said to get him back from the bad men! That's it, we're going!"

"Yes Commander, I'll start making preparations for the charge at once. Now, we ought to spread out the lines, or we might be outflanked"

"No we won't! I'm great at being Flak! Nobody's gonna out-Flak me!"

"No Commander, outflank, it's means if the lines of the enemy are too wide then we might expose the back of our units and lose our reserves, then we might be surrounded by units facing…"

"Too complicated! Do what you want! I'm going now, and getting back Adder with a Bar bar… babar… Barbarbar… Bar-bar-ic Blow! Yes, that's it! Barbaric Blow! Smashing time!"

With that, Flak turned over the table in front of him, scattering maps and plans of the area, not that he'd looked at them once yet, although he had used one as a napkin. He charged swiftly past Black Hole's lines, as men leapt into their tanks in confusion and began to set off, following him with little orderliness or any directive telling them what they heading out to achieve, although most could guess that it would be something to the effect of 'smash'.

Flak charged ahead of them all, outpacing the charging tanks, driven by brute force, seeking out Max like a ravenous wolf mindlessly sprints through the black forest, howling to the moon; powerful, yet clumsy and driven by animal instincts instead of human rationale. So did Flak charge, nothing but death, or rather 'smash', on his mind, roaring incomprehensible decrees to the trailing army.

And now Max, looking out over the battlefield, proud of what he had achieved, was suddenly filled with dread. Like a man who, confident in his strength, strolls assertively through the country, but steps on a snake, hidden by briars, and then recoils in terror as he sees what he has done, his face suddenly drained of blood, his self-belief replaced by horror, as he looks on the hissing serpent, eager for revenge. In this way did Max feel dread in his innermost heart, looking out at the inhuman Flak, roused by fury about Max's impulsive deed, charging at him, ready to kill.

Max turned and fled, signalling at the tanks to fire outwards at the approaching Black Hole assault, but he didn't have the speed to escape the swift footed Flak, aided by the unearthly powers given to him by Sturm. Flak charged up to Max and struck out haphazardly in his back, the slight tap knocking him to the ground, a heavy impact that Max struggled to rise from, as Flak triumphed over him, taunting him,

"Ha! Take that Ape-man! You can't beat me!"

Max made a great effort to get to his feet and, still some distance from the safety of his lines, faced the jeering CO. He couldn't run, not that such a tactic was his preferred course of action in these situations anyway, so he had to fight.

Max would have smiled if he wasn't in such pain already from his fall. He had been in his share of fights when he was at military academy. From his experience, fights normally adhered to a particular formula; there would be a big tough guy who used his strength, and a little annoying coward that only survived by refusing to stay still. Max had always been the big tough guy, but now he would have to learn about this agility thing rather quickly. Flak may have been fast, but he certainly wasn't nimble, so this was how Max would have to beat him, or at least survive.

Flak charged, arms flailing wildly. Max kept his position, ready to move. As Flak drew close, Max feigned a move to the left, before diving to his right, sending Flak, not used to reading body language, completely the wrong way. Flak, not seeming to care, didn't even bother to stop, sprinting in a wide circle back towards Max, screaming loudly.

As he drew close again, Black Hole tanks began to dash past both of the combatants, narrowly missing each man, as glancing Orange Star tank fire flew out into the battlefield, crashing into the ground far too close to both men. Max tried to repeat his trick, but Flak didn't follow Max's lead, instead charging straight on, through the Orange Star CO, who dived to the side, but still took a potent blow to the chest. As Max failed to stand up, several ribs broken, Flak walked over to him,

"I said I'd crush you! Bye, Ape-man!"

With that, Flak raised his foot over Max's wounded body, ready to finish him off. Max had to think, and quickly… what did he know about Flak? He was stupid. That was true. There was one chance,

"Well done Flak, but you're too late. By now, Adder's execution should have happened. Oh, wait, it's not for another thirty seconds. Ah well, there's no way you can save him now…"

"Adder's gonna die? I won't let you hurt Adder!"

With these words, he charged towards the Orange Star lines, leaving Max to drag himself back to his lines, helped by a few infantrymen who covered his retreat.

Flak, meanwhile, was on a mission. That he might have been lied to never crossed his mind. He charged through the lines without resistance, infantry unable to hit the swift figure, personally turning over tanks that got in his way by force. In the confusion of Black Hole's rapid disorganised onslaught, most men, by the time they realised that Flak was behind their lines, had lost sight of the Black Hole CO, as he sought out the Orange Star command centre.

He saw it in front of him. A large amount of communications equipment and plans on tables were scattered around on a large and raised metal platform. Flak saw the COs walking about, seemingly too preoccupied with managing their troops to notice him. Nell glanced up and saw him charging too late.

With a single bound, he leapt up onto the platform and swung his arm at Nell, knocking her away. She flew backwards and struck a large transmitter, sliding to the floor in great pain and suffering from concussion, but still conscious. Sami, always cool in a crisis, raised her rifle, ever by her side, and fired into Flak's back. Flak spun round as a hail of fire tore through his flesh, but no spray of blood emerged, as if the CO felt no pain. He fell upon the poor girl, knocking her unconscious with a single blow, and she slumped back against a table, rifle lying discarded at her side, blood trickling from her mouth.

Flak, having well and truly smashed all the bad people in the area, overturned tables in a fit of anger, desperately trying to find Adder. Having knocked over a large metal cabinet, he found Adder cowering in a dark corner. Adder looked up at the childlike happiness evident on Flak's face,

"Now Flak, before you do anything, I want you to think carefully about…"

"Too complicated! I rescued Adder! Now Hawke will be happy!"

"That's almost certainly true, but nonetheless, I think that we should just consider our respective predicaments before we rush into any one course of…"

Adder was not allowed to finish as Flak picked him up in a single hand and threw him limply over his shoulder before running back through the Orange Star army. Adder called to his simple minded friend,

"Oh, professionally done. Random tank assault, hitting COs, abandoning your men, all of this, Flak, is why I was further up the chain of command than you"

"I was really sad when you went missing Adder. Hawke said we had to get you back"

By this time, Flak was beyond the front lines of Orange Star, running out past the confused mix of Black Hole and alliance units. Adder pleaded desperately with his saviour or captor, depending on one's view of the situation,

"Now dearest Flak, before you proceed any further, I would ask you to try and recognise the overriding moral imperatives that are clashing at this moment in time. I am aware that there is a prerequisite for expediency and a clear command in the Black Hole army, but we must also weigh this up against the inherent need for self preservation in a situation where we ourselves may shortly become the victims. If you are performing this 'rescue' as my friend, please be aware that you are carrying me to my death, or at least a lot of pain"

"No Adder," replied Flak, "I'm carrying you away from death"

"Flak, please put me down"

At that moment, as the roar of battle continued unabated behind the two men, Flak's iron grip loosened, and he stopped. Adder slid from his shoulder and, facing away quietly said,

"I thank you for your consideration. What will you do now Flak? Flak?"

Without another word, Flak collapsed, his strength consumed. Adder fell to the ground by his former comrade. He yelled his name at him, panicked at what had happened.

Little did Adder know that Eagle stood some way back, deep fury in his heart at what Flak had done, his handgun issuing a fine thread of smoke. A bullet in the middle of the neck was enough to stop even Flak's inhuman charge.

As Adder remained crouched by Flak's still form, despite the danger he was in, despite how easily he could have leapt into an APC of either allegiance and fled the battlefield, free from torture, electric shocks and low quality coffee.

Eagle and several Green Earth infantrymen leapt out from an armoured car that had just stopped nearby. The battle was away from them now, and most of Black Hole's force had been driven back, even beyond their original front. Adder, guessing what had happened, snarled at Eagle,

"You! You did this! You shot my comrade! It's not his fault! He has a mind like a child! He was… made to be aggressive and simplistic! Would you shoot a child or a disabled person?"

"Let's get him back to the command centre. Hawke mustn't get hold of him" said Eagle calmly, not able to look at Flak's body, the victim of Sturm's evil mind. Adder, seized and overpowered by two infantrymen, quickly said,

"He's not dead! Just badly injured! You're the good guys! You have to take him back with us! You have to help him recover!"

"It's too risky. He's too unpredictable" replied Eagle, still unable to look upon the product of his own handiwork.

"You can't just leave him here to die! He has to get better!" screamed Adder, emotions stronger than just anger and revenge clearly in is voice.

"We'll leave that to them" said Eagle, gesturing towards an approaching squadron of Black Hole infantry, coming to retrieve their fallen commander. Adder was shoved into the jeep, still resisting, which began to drive back as Flak began to stir, clearly weak. Adder spun round, watching him closely through the window, which he was pressed against.

Eagle watched Adder. Eagle knew that he was a product of genetic manipulation, designed and created to be capable of only certain emotions, personality traits and instincts. Surely Sturm wouldn't have allowed Adder any sense of compassion? Emotions interfered with battles. Eagle gently asked,

"Why did you want to stay?"

"I have known him as long as I can remember. He has been my only companion for so long. Hawke is so reclusive, and Lash… joined Black Hole more recently. I… he is my comrade, my companion"

Adder still looked out o the back of the armoured car as he was driven back to Orange Star's advancing lines, while Flak was dragged the other way, separated from his oldest companion again.

Eagle wondered about Adder's words. Was it possible that, despite everything that Sturm had tried to create, everything he had tried to stamp out, that Adder was still a normal human underneath it all? Could Adder perhaps have a human heart and mind beneath everything that Sturm and Hawke had done to suppress them? Eagle put such thoughts from his mind. With Nell and Sami unfit to command, he had to focus until either Andy or Drake could join him.

Lacking a commander, the Black Hole forces fell back in disarray. The battle was going well on the right flank.

Meanwhile, the conflict was tougher on the left side of the battlefield. Lash and Sonja each showed themselves to be a tactical genius, constantly foreseeing the other's move and countering in advance. Both had used the woods well, and both had kept moving and rotating forces to keep the initiative. Sonja, however, was pushing forwards, and, with both Black Hole forces being pushed back, Grit was making final preparations to deal with the White Sun once and for all.

The man was at the back of the army, taking a final reading of wind speed, which, at this range at least, made a huge difference to any attack. As normally happened with Grit, there was no pomp, no ceremony, no other COs that he had insisted be there just to watch how great he was, no speech, just the final adjustment to angle that no other CO had the technical expertise to even notice. Grit, the most quiet and laid-back CO, but also the most dependable in a tight spot, strolled round to the front of a rocket unit and muttered,

"See ya around Hawke" before pressing a single button.

A thunderous roar signified the launch of the rockets, which sped over the battlefield in a perfect arc and rushed at the White Sun.

But they never reached their target.

Just as Grit's perfectly aimed volley was about to tear the ancient weapon apart, they all exploded mid-air. A fine black mist had shone around the White Sun for a second, seemingly revealed by the impact, and then faded away again. Grit ran to a small portable transmitter that lay nearby,

"Sonja! This is Grit, did you see that?"

"It is as I feared" came the reply from Sonja, "It would seem that Lash's energy field is also resistant to weaponry. Such a fear made me dismiss any frontal assault. We'd be destroyed with no method of hitting the weapon"

"Lucky you foresaw all of this then darling, but what do we do now?"

"Do not worry, I have a contingency plan"

"And what might that be?"

"Lash's energy field is essential to the firing of the weapon, and that will require significant maintenance. We should be able to shut it down manually"

"How exactly?"

"We have to send men into the complex around the White Sun. I didn't make it my first plan as the casualties might be huge but… what must be done, must be done. We will send every T-copter we have over the battlefield, together with as many elite infantry units as possible. They will be dropped off within the outer perimeter wall, thus protecting them from most of Hawke's army, which, by locking us out, will have also locked itself away from our force"

"Hang on there, Sonja, you said earlier that we couldn't send bombers over the area as they'd be torn apart by all them anti air emplacements. Are you sure that this is wise?"

"Don't worry. We couldn't use bombers because they're too big. Those guns have been calibrated to be powerful, but quite inaccurate, but that doesn't matter when the target is as large as a bomber. When they're aiming at small T-copters, they'll have real problems"

"Whose leading the assault from the front?"

"Master Sensei and Eagle will be providing the T-copters and troops, and I have spoken to them both already about this privately. Having seen the rocket attack fail, they should already be making final preparations. They will be ready to go upon a moment's notice. Sadly, Master Sensei is too old to actually lead the troops into battle, so my father will be taking his place upon the front lines"

"What do you intend to actually do with these troops?"

"They should be able to breach the outer defences. Once inside, they will infiltrate the inner complex and find the controls for the White Sun. There should be an override system somewhere in the area. Anyway, Adder will go with Eagle, and he should be able to find his way through the complex, since he has been here a few times before"

"All very well, but what should all of us do?"

"Left to their own devices, Hawke's troops would open up the gates and enter the complex. We must engage his troops to distract them enough to give our men time to break into the buildings"

"Fine, good luck Sonja"

"I'm not the one that will need it Grit, but thank you"

Within a few minutes, the skies were filled with swarms of T-copters, which soared over the army of Hawke, inevitably taking hits, but staying largely in tact.

The Black Vortex was growing in size. Time was short. This was the last chance they had…


	19. Sacrifices

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Dear all, thanks, as per usual, for the many lovely reviews you honour me with. Sorry this took so long to get up, but with A-levels all done, I should be working much faster from now on. Anyway, read, enjoy, and review! Cheers, Foulds

Hundreds of T-copters soared through the air, flying low to avoid missile fire. Though an ordered advance had been the idea, as the guns began to tear through tight formations, and pilots saw their neighbours being struck, burning, falling to the ground in a fiery plunge, it was only in human nature to panic and flee wildly. By pure luck, the swooping charge of the scattered horde helped the units to avoid the inaccurate fire from Hawke's guns.

Nonetheless, a terrible price was paid by the men who were trying to save their country. Everywhere they looked, a stream of flashing fire, an impenetrable wall of burning metal that no air unit could resist the force of, swept the skies, picking off helicopters with single hits. A man might see his fellow countrymen fall to their deaths wherever he looked.

There was no dramatic music, no hero to save them, no glorious charge without casualties, no CO unexpectedly destroying the anti air units and making a witty comment. The skies were filled with brave men who believed in what they fought for, but such noble sentiment had no effect on the pounding guns below them.

The casualties were huge, but, as Sonja had been forced to accept, this was a war and they all had a job to do, each man with his own part and his own sacrifice. The heavens shed tears of fire and blood, but, despite everything, well over a hundred T-copters dived to the ground inside Black Hole's outer defences as the alliance launched its charge against Hawke's forces, drawing their attention away from the gates, but not their fire away from the T-copters.

The men that were left had great spirit in them, leaping from their transport crafts and charging forwards across the concrete expanse at the White Sun's buildings, many in awe of the colossal weapon itself, which towered above them, itself casting a shadow over the whole battlefield, held up by the pillars, one of which stretched into the heavens before them, the location of the controls with which they could stop Hawke's weapon.

Foremost amongst the men, leading the charge, the first man to lay his feet on the ground below Black Hole's fearful weapon, curved katana in hand, sharp and polished, cape flowing behind him, issuing a mighty war cry as his ancestors had done for hundreds of years, was the invincible and matchless strength of Emperor Kanbei.

But, as the alliance struggled to match Hawke's army outside the gates, the struggle inside was more gruelling still. Black Hole infantry lined the battlements, many controlling the same style of gun emplacement that had assaulted the T-copters' rush forwards.

Infantry units in the strongest of defensive positions had, for many years, feared the approach of anti aircraft weaponry, as such cannons possess overwhelming firepower, but now the alliance sent its men across an open area with no defensive cover against the next step up from these weapons, controlled by Hawke's elite bodyguard, at fairly close range.

Only by sheer strength of numbers did the alliance cross the first hurdle that Hawke had placed in their way, numbers that were greatly diminished by the time they had reached the doors of the buildings. Even within the complex, Black Hole soldiers lined every wall, lying in ambush in every side room and around every corner.

Far above the battlefield, still in the air, a man watched the carnage unfold with anger in his heart. Kanbei may have seemed brave to lead the charge and set down first, rushing at the guns, but Commander Eagle showed equal valour by staying in the air until every single man had touched down when being airborne was so innately perilous. Over the din of the grim battle, the guns, the screams, he yelled forwards to the pilot,

"Make a pass over the walls!"

"Commander, at this range, those guns…"

"Either obey your orders or take your chances on the ground and let me fly this thing! We've got to draw fire away from the ground forces!"

Just behind the courageous Eagle, another man, slightly less courageous, stumbled uncomfortably through the T-copter, trying to keep his balance,

"Could you please try to fly more smoothly, I'm starting to feel quite queasy. Are we there yet?"

"For the last time, no, now be quiet, Adder"

"Couldn't we just hang around at the back? They'll run out of bullets soon, so let's just allow the plebeians to go first"

"You're just lucky that Sonja decided that the shock collar was inhumane and degrading. Sadly for you, I do still have a handgun"

The two mismatched COs argued in the skies, their T-copter already carrying the scars of battle from the many times that Eagle had already elected on throwing his helicopter in the way of fire in order to save his men, showing the righteous spirit that had saved Jess' life. They soared over the heads of the bemused Black Hole soldiers, who fired after him, scattering bullets smashing into the craft, which just stayed in the air. The pilot turned to Eagle,

"Commander, we're losing power, we've got to land"

Eagle staggered forwards to the cockpit as the crippled craft limped forwards and slowly descended. He scanned the area. They were above a vast black building. Eagle gave orders without hesitation,

"Land on the roof and we'll try and break in"

"Or, we could turn back" added Adder, "Sometimes the best offensive strategies involve taking cover… some way back from the frontlines… in an armoured car… in Orange Star territory… with a nice glass of red wine… and some Parma ham"

"We're going in, and if you want to survive, you'll use any inside knowledge you might have about Black Hole systems and architecture to give us the advantage"

"Commander, look!" yelled the pilot as he pointed downwards. An explosion from a stray artillery blast had struck a section of the roof, which had suddenly collapsed and fallen inwards, leaving a large cavernous gap into the complex. Eagle glared down at it,

"Land next to the hole on the roof, we don't want to give away our presence"

"But if we happened to give away our presence, then we would logically have to withdraw, yes?"

"Jess is safe now. You're lucky to be alive, and if you aren't useful to me, you won't be for much longer. Pilot, set down there, then wait for us to return. Adder, you're coming with me"

As the T-copter descended, Eagle decided that he didn't like the situation. He listened. All those guns, and yet none were firing at him. He shook his head. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, he thought. He wanted to get inside, and now he could. He could join up to his troops and also, entering this way, perhaps, sneak around unnoticed.

Eagle let a rope fall down into the room, one end tied to the T-copter and rather forcefully suggested that Adder should go first. The pallid CO slid down with an inept and awkward style, his hideous bony white fingers unsuited to climbing, and he fell the last few feet, struggling to rise from his fairly painless fall until he had complained about it for some time. Eagle glided down the rope using one hand, the other keeping his handgun ever ready for use, dashing towards the floor effortlessly and landing on his feet with great skill.

Adder looked around. He seemed disappointed, not that he knew what he would have preferred. An empty hallway meant that the pain and bullets were yet to come. A full hallway meant that death was imminent. Capture meant either being trapped in a complex that would shortly be the testing ground for the most powerful weapon ever created, or, as seemed more likely, immediate execution. Not entering the complex at all meant facing the powerful gun emplacements. This, considered Adder, was why he would have opted to fight for Black Hole, given a choice.

Adder frowned to himself. He had been the one to suggest to Hawke, so long ago, that the clones should be designed to shoot on sight while making no attempt to take an enemy alive or ask for a surrender. He partially regretted it now.

Eagle too was scanning his surroundings. They were in a tall chamber, and sunlight poured in from above them onto the shards of metal and stone that littered the floor from the explosion. The floor was constructed of elegant green marble tiles, placed together with great care, leaving no gaps or cracks. The walls seemed to be made of a white stone, as did the ceiling, but a cursory glance upwards showed that the stylish decoration ultimately covered the same old black metal walls, reinforced and very thick. Eagle looked up again. The ceiling's armour had been very thick indeed. They had been lucky to be able to get in at all. The only piece of decoration was a huge black mass behind them, a great statue that filled the expansive room, carved out of black rock, the image of Sturm.

Eagle pulled Adder to his feet, having seized his neck and pushed him down a corridor, following closely behind him. Gunfire echoed softly in the halls, clearly some way in the distance. No footsteps sounded close. Eagle and Adder crept through the quiet cavernous halls, not exactly sure where they were going or what they were looking for.

Elsewhere, the battle raged fiercely. Under the control of fierce Kanbei, the alliance was pushing through the complex slowly, dealing out greater casualties than they were receiving. Yet the manpower that Hawke had grown in laboratories and factories was immeasurable, and every unit of infantry that was struck down, screaming and falling, black night covering their eyes, was immediately replaced with another unit, every time renewing the resistance and strengthening the lines.

The roar of battle was everywhere in the narrow halls, bullets flying in every direction. Screams and cries and explosions and gunfire all flew through the echoing passages, merging into a thunderous drone that spread everywhere. Bullets tore through everything, leaving the battle in confusion, as the white stone walls fell apart under the hail of fire, throwing thick clouds of dust through the air, obscuring the soldiers' sight.

How many times did a man blindly fire forwards and shoot his own ally in the back as he charged forwards? How many times did a man throw himself from cover, thinking that it was time to advance, only to run through the dust and into a prepared ambush, or get torn apart by an unseen assailant in the gloomy hallways?

As the men rushed on whenever they could and the din of battle pervaded every corner, all order and planning broke down on both sides.

But the mighty Emperor Kanbei didn't allow his mind to become clouded by the blaring noise, horrific sight or foul stench of death, but was always focussed on the mission. Using the dust as a shield, he rushed past the Black Hole soldiers, concealing his presence from them. Diving into a side corridor, he rushed around a corner and stayed still. Nobody was following him. The Black Hole lines were impassable to a charging army, but a single man trained in the ways of the samurai could overcome them easily enough, and it would take a single man to finish this mission. He drew his sword, ready to silence any guard that had been placed just in case something like this happened. It wouldn't be hard for him to stay stealthy.

Far away from the three COs that wandered the corridors, at the very heart of the complex, standing in a small chamber that was suspended over the excavation site, a man stood, dressed in black. The room was constructed entirely out of metal, with machines and consoles lining the walls. From where he stood, the cries of battle were distant murmurs.

But Hawke didn't enjoy the sounds of battle. He wasn't listening intently to his army engaging the alliance. He had no method of knowing how the battles were going. He just stood there, a book in hand, trying to take his mind off the pain.

Hawke was standing on top of a metal platform. Tiny streaks of lightning played around his boots, each one burning and searing his flesh, but, even though he was alone, he had too much pride to show it. He felt energy coursing through his body. It made him feel cold and weak, as he stood there shaking, the process drawing away the last of his life's strength. Hawke never thought about moving, or about stopping. It was incomprehensible to him. He had to go on. He had to finish the work.

Hawke glanced upwards. There was a large circular gap in the ceiling above him. The hole was lined with another piece of machinery, which drained the energy he was passing through himself out of him again once it was converted into Black Wave energy. Far above him, the Black Hole Vortex shimmered, its black form growing as the dark energy from Hawke's body, Hawke's own life-force, fed it. Soon it would be ready. Soon everything would be ready. Hawke drew strength from the fact. Soon it would be over. Then only the final trial was left.

Hawke breathed deeply and tried to compose himself, to prevent his voice from sounding too weak, and pulled a radio from his pocket,

"Lash, where are you?"

"Oh, hello Hawke! I'm here in the security centre. Listen, we had a few little problems out on the field… quite a few units were destroyed"

"That is inconsequential now. How are the lines inside the base?"

"It's all just like you said it would be. They've sent in infantry by T-copter against the main building. I made sure enough men survived the initial charge for them to continue the mission, and I've drawn up every piece we have in the corridors, so they'll never break through"

"Has Eagle found his way in yet?"

"Oh yes, he took the bait, just like I thought he would. He came in through that hole in the roof you asked me to make. Adder's still with him"

"Good, we still have need of him too. Do you know where Eagle is now?"

"Yep, I'm tracking his movements carefully, but he doesn't seem to have noticed yet"

"He is trying to avoid confrontation. If it is necessary, move some troops around near him to herd him where we want him to go. Just make sure that he finds his way to me"

"You know, we could just capture him normally and bring him to you…"

"No, it must not be that way. It would not be fitting. I must confront him. He will join us when he knows the truth"

"Hawke, there is another little problem"

"What?"

"Emperor Kanbei seems to have broken through the lines. He's alone, but still… should I send a large force against him?"

"Nothing will interrupt the meeting between myself and Eagle this time. But it seems a waste to destroy him. I'm told that he possesses great power… Lash, you have failed already, send more troops to the front lines, there will be no more leaks. I will deal with Kanbei myself"

"Hawke, what about the Black Hole Vortex? If Eagle finds his way to it while you're…"

"Send some troops to surround the area that he's in until I return. He should just hide until they've gone. As for the Vortex itself, cut the power to the charging mechanism, but keep the energy field in place. I will return to continue shortly. Where is Kanbei?"

"On the fifth level of the control tower complex, close to the barracks"

"Seal him in that sector with the blast doors. I will go and find him"

"Okay, toodles!"

Within a few moments, the energy that was crackling around Hawke's feet dissipated and the machines' gentle whirring faded until the room became silent again. Hawke stepped forwards and fell to his knees, too weak to move. The energy was killing him slowly, but it was also the only thing keeping him alive. Hawke needed energy to live; that was the way he had been made.

He raised his trembling right hand and, removing his glove to reveal a scarred and disfigured hand, watched as a fragile looking black sphere appeared in the middle of his palm. He knew that he shouldn't do this. Using Black Wave for healing gave him strength in the short-term, but was another factor that was ultimately killing him in the long-term. All his life, every time he used Black Wave, just as Sturm had intended, perhaps, he had been borrowing time from the future to pay for the present. Nonetheless, he couldn't face Kanbei in his present condition, and Kanbei's genetic code might be useful.

He closed his eyes and, after a moment's hesitation, slammed his hand into his chest. The dark energy coursed through his veins, power and strength, but also pain and agony flowing through him. As he screamed to the skies, the force of the energy wave hitting him knocked him backwards onto his back.

He just lay on the floor, looking out through the hole in the ceiling at the blue sky as the extreme sensations subsided. He stood up and held out his right hand. It wasn't shaking. He felt strong. Now he could face Kanbei. His abilities wouldn't last very long though, so he had to hurry.

He replaced his glove and gently tapped a button in the wall, causing a thick metal door to slide open, revealing a platform of some description. Aside from the five reinforced metal cables that suspended the platform, it was linked to the main building by a metal track, from which a cable car was hanging, waiting to be used. Hawke entered it and was quickly conveyed back towards the complex, where he would seek out Kanbei and destroy him if necessary.

Meanwhile, the powerful samurai was strolling around the complex, confused and suspicious by the absence of guards. Furthermore, he kept coming to some open corridors while others were blocked off securely. Why would they possibly seal off only parts of the building when there were no troops to move? Why not just shut all the blast doors? Kanbei, his sword now sheathed again, having encountered no resistance, walked onwards, lost and puzzled.

Suddenly he heard one of the huge blast doors creak open. Envisaging an escape route being opened by some guards, he threw himself to the wall, silently concealing himself behind the marble faced pillars that lined the corridors here. All he needed to do was take out whoever came through the door, or, if possible, just wait for them to pass, and then he could flee, then he would be safe. To his surprise, there came only the sound of a single pair of boots, stepping heavily and steadily across the hard floor, and then, to his dismay, the door could be heard creaking back to being closed again. The steps stopped far short of Kanbei, although in the same passageway, and a well known and feared voice rang out, no emotion in its tone,

"Show yourself, Emperor Kanbei. I know you are here. Do not be afraid. I swear that I do not seek to kill you"

Kanbei, curved and sharp katana drawn and in hand, stepped out into the hallway, not sure what would happen next, but not entirely trusting Hawke. The Black Hole CO continued,

"Sturm always had the greatest respect for you. Not fear, he only ever feared one man, but certainly respect. He believed that you possessed great power, not just as a Commanding Officer, but also as an individual. He always spoke of your… spirit. I concede, I do not know what he meant exactly, and neither of us was able to conclude the genetic code that determined the spirit of a samurai, though we could both see that it was the source of your power"

"You will never take me alive. The samurai does not fear death, and I will embrace it sooner than aid your evil mission"

"Your opinion of your own importance is rather too high. I was never convinced by the importance of your samurai spirit. It would be interesting to observe your genetic code to see if there was anything in this spirit theory, but I have no time for such intriguing study now. I only have interest in what is useful"

"You guaranteed me my life"

"I swore that I did not seek to kill you. What happens now is up to you. I have no desire to destroy you. I simply wish to test you. Consider this is a challenge. I will pit the abilities Lord Sturm gave me against your samurai spirit. If you are weak, then you will die. If you are strong, then I will take you alive"

"You do not fight with honour, coward" said Kanbei, pointing his glinting sword at Hawke

"I have little interest in finishing you off with one blast of Black Wave, if that is what you mean. You have my word that this will be a fair fight. Now, I am sorry about this, Emperor Kanbei," said Hawke, reaching his right hand, covered by a glove as always, inside his long coat, "I have no quarrel with you, but strong compulsion controls all these matters, and I have no choice"

With these words, Hawke withdrew his hand from inside his coat and revealed the glint of metal. He smoothly drew a military sabre from his inside pocket, a straight double-edged sword, shorter than Kanbei's katana, but clearly as sharp and well cared for. He said simply,

"Emperor Kanbei, try and strike me down. Show me your samurai spirit, and let me see if it can save you"

Kanbei needed no further invitation. Raising the mighty war cry, sword held out at his side, ready to swing with ferocious force, charging at his calm and motionless foe, Kanbei gripped the katana with two hands and, pulling it above his head, lashed out with incredible strength.

Hawke's feet didn't move, neither did his body or head, faced with this daunting charge, but just his right arm, wielding the fearsome and merciless blade. Hawke's hand flew up faster than Kanbei's would have thought possible, and the sabre met his attack perfectly.

Kanbei, not expecting Hawke to possess such strength, was thrown off balance by the might of the Hawke's parrying. Stumbling to the side, he threw out his right foot to regain his stance, but Hawke did not allow the mistake to stand unpunished. While Kanbei was still wrong-footed, the sabre lashed out at his right arm, in which his katana was clasped.

Hawke left only a scratch across the inside of Kanbei's wrist, but it was deep enough to make him release his blade, which flew into the wall, where it stood, trembling. Hawke leapt into action, and delivered a brutal kick to Kanbei's chest, knocking him back down the corridor. Kanbei choked from the floor and struggled to his feet, lucky that none of his ribs were broken. Hawke called over to him,

"Perhaps now you can see that I am no normal opponent, and that your little charges won't work against me. You cannot defeat me with strength, Kanbei, so I hope, for your sake, that your spirit will shine through. Now, take care not to lose this again"

Hawke then pulled the katana out of the wall effortlessly, and laying it on the polished marble floor, kicked it towards Kanbei who reclaimed it and took up a different stance from before, a more defensive position. Hawke then called out,

"Come at me again, and keep your guard up, since I am faster than you by far"

Kanbei ran at Hawke again, this time keeping his sword down to hide his next move, stopping further away from Hawke. The Black Hole CO may have been faster and stronger, but, as Kanbei could see, he also had the shorter sword. Kanbei swung at Hawke with a fast bout of glancing blows, all knocked away with ease wherever the Emperor swiped.

Had Kanbei been facing any other enemy, they would long since have fallen to the ground, their blood seeping from open wounds, but Hawke seemed untouchable in combat. Kanbei rained down powerful slashing attacks, but Hawke seemed unimpressed, or even slightly bored at times.

Just like the lioness chasing its prey, ever attacking, never tiring, driven by instinct, the mightiest creature in existence, so did Kanbei attack Hawke, but Hawke was like a stone wall, unflinching in the face of any attack, feeling no emotion and no pain, confidently standing against any onslaught.

Hawke tried his best to goad Kanbei into greater fury and greater attacks,

"Surely you can do better" he taunted, brushing aside the many strikes, as he began to step forwards, and, swinging at the retreating Emperor, he took control of the fight,

"Make me fear you… show me your strength"

All this was to no avail. Kanbei kept falling back, his blows coming to nothing, unable to counter Hawke's power, receiving more light scratches as he lacked the speed to evade the sabre. Hawke had one final statement,

"Don't die, Emperor Kanbei, who would protect your daughter…? Who would stop her being captured and taken to my base and… well, you saw what happened to Jess"

With a scream, Kanbei leapt forwards, his speed taking Hawke by surprise, forcing him to step back as the blows flew from every direction and Hawke, unable to keep up, staggered backwards, evading, but unable to counter against the strength of Kanbei. Hawke leapt backwards, barely keeping up with Kanbei, who rushed with fire in his eyes, rage in every move, a scream still issuing from his lips. Hawke, clearly afraid, yelled,

"Enough of this!"

He leapt forwards into Kanbei's attack and struck at him with all his inhuman power. The katana was raised to counter, but Hawke would not be denied this time, his sabre moving with such vicious irresistible power that the blade severed Kanbei's ancient sword, tearing apart the elegant metal with a single swipe, the sword of rulers for hundreds of years shattered. Hawke followed up the advantage, as Kanbei didn't realise what had just happened, by lunging at him, sword in hand.

There was a flash of steel, a spray of blood.

The Emperor of Yellow Comet stood still, impaled by Hawke, held up by Hawke's sabre, which pierced his chest and elegant clothing and emerged from his back, covered in blood. In the sudden silence and calm, Hawke withdrew his sword from Kanbei's body, letting the Yellow Comet CO fall to the ground, coughing up dark blood onto the elegantly decorated floor. Hawke stepped back,

"I concede, that was impressive. Your footwork was excellent, putting me onto the defensive several times, but it seems that your abilities are inferior to mine. I have no need of you"

Without wiping the blood from his sabre, Hawke concealed it again within his coat and began to walk away. Kanbei, his strength almost exhausted, got up onto his knees, supporting himself with his hands, and lowered his head, before calling after Hawke,

"Finish it"

Hawke looked back at Kanbei, who was waiting for him to put a sword through his neck, and replied,

"The wound is through your lungs. You will be dead within three minutes anyway. My attention is now required elsewhere"

As Hawke walked off, Kanbei crawled forwards to the shattered remains of his sword. He retrieved the base, still possessing a jagged edge despite Hawke's attack, and said to himself,

"There is always an honourable end for the samurai, and it is found inside his own sword"

Kanbei took the blade in both hands, pointing it at his own chest. He closed his eyes and prepared to use his final speck of energy to end his life honourably. Just as he was about to plunge the sword into his heart, Hawke's voice rang out through the passageway,

"Wait! Hmm… yes, I have been most short-sighted. You are far more valuable to me alive, even if it is not as a test subject. Emperor Kanbei, I have grave news about your daughter. She is close to the front of the battle, so Lash tells me, and the Black Hole Vortex will shortly fire. In her present location, she will surely die. Go and find her, and perhaps she might survive"

"I… I can't in this condition… Sonja! You inhuman monster! Mocking and tormenting me with painful words!"

"Of course, how forgetful of me"

Hawke walked forwards and knelt down next to Kanbei's fallen body, looking at the wound he had inflicted. After a moment, he said,

"Stay perfectly still. A low dose shouldn't do you any harm at all"

Hawke removed his glove and closed his eyes for a moment as a tiny quivering black dot appeared in his tattered right hand. He passed the hand over the nervous Kanbei's chest and Kanbei himself gasped and choked before breathing deeply, and looking down. His wound had sealed over, skin that carried a slight grey tinge covering the gash. He could breathe. He felt stronger again. Hawke got up and left without a word, having replaced his glove. Kanbei called after him,

"You can heal people? You can cure any injury?"

"Yes"

"Why do you fight? Why do you try and kill us all? You could do such good with your abilities! Sturm is gone, why follow him?"

"How many famous doctors can you name, Emperor Kanbei? How many medical breakthroughs, however significant, change the course of history? Doctors may change the world, yet they receive no credit. Their life might as well never have happened.

But a military leader, even if he fails, is remembered and feared and looked up to for countless years. Anyway, I have been made to be a CO. My path was laid out long ago, when my creator deemed that I was a military leader, just as a soldier is a soldier and everyone has their place in Black Hole. I don't think you are able to understand my plight. Anyway, your daughter must be saved before I kill her. Farewell"

Kanbei snarled. The man who wanted to kill them all was right in front of him, and there was nothing he could do except let him go. He was powerless. He had no choice but to run, and try to save his daughter.

As he ran, Hawke walked back towards his suspended chamber's cable car. He pulled the radio from his pocket again,

"Ensure that Emperor Kanbei escapes unharmed and meets no resistance"

"Oh, Hawke, why are you letting him go! That's no fun!" replied Lash, clearly quite frustrated that she hadn't been able to watch Kanbei die horribly after what he'd done to her Heavy Tank.

"It would be a shame for Sonja to die. Kanbei may not be useful, but the girl certainly is. Her tactical prowess will be very handy. It is quite ironic. Kanbei is rushing to preserve his daughter so that I can capture her. He wants to save her from death, but in doing so is sentencing her to a far slower and more painful one"

"What about Eagle and Adder?"

"Where are they now?"

"I'm making them run around in circles from footsteps, it's quite funny to watch, they must think hundreds of guards are chasing them, but it's just the same five over and over!"

"I will shortly be back at the charging area. Send them in my direction now. Eagle will be see the power of the Black Hole Vortex and learn everything. The moment of victory is at hand"


	20. A Mirror, Shattered

__

Hey all, welcome back to Hawke's Vengeance after a little time away! Hawke's Vengeance will indeed be starting again right after these pleas…

WARNING – SHAMELESS ADVERTISING IMMINENT

[August 10th, 2004, a small town in the heart of England. In a bright room overlooking a picturesque garden, a student with increasingly obviously unkempt hair is bent over a keyboard typing furiously. He looks up and rotates in his chair to face the camera. Karen Ramirez sings quietly in the background]

Foulds: Oh, hello there, I didn't see you come in. Dear readers, it has come to my attention that not that many of you are reading Soaring too close to the Sun. I would like to recommend that you do for two main reasons.

Firstly, Hawke's Vengeance is not a stand alone story. It is in fact part of a full trilogy and is meant to be read alongside Soaring too close to the Sun, as well as the third part that hasn't been started yet, though it is being planned carefully. Much of what is in this chapter will not make complete sense until a lot of Soaring too close to the Sun has been written. Secondly, Hawke's Vengeance is sadly not going to be around forever, and when it ends you'll be left without any Foulds-based entertainment, except for Soaring to close to the Sun, which has at least twenty more chapters in it yet!

In conclusion, if you like Hawke's Vengeance then I can guarantee that you'll enjoy Soaring too close to the Sun just as much, and probably more. There are only four fairly short chapters of it so far, so it shouldn't take long to catch up. Go on, you know you want to…

Anyway, read, enjoy, REVIEW, read Soaring to close to the Sun, enjoy that, REVIEW that, goodnight, and God bless, Jon Foulds

[the unkempt student one bows his head in shame at this shameless plugging]

SHAMELESS ADVERTISING COMPLETE

As faint explosions and screams echoed through the marble halls, Adder and Eagle stood perfectly still, looking out over the vast pit. They stood in what appeared to be a docking bay of some description. Despite being chased and surrounded by guards several times, the two men had somehow escaped, a fact that both COs had decided was due to their own inspired leadership.

A grey metal platform ran out through a huge hole in the wall. A thick metal cable ran all the way from heavy machinery inside the base out to the centre of the immense void. Eagle looked suspiciously at a large black cable car that was hanging from the metal rope. It closely resembled a metal train carriage, with doors, windows and a roof. Benches lined the walls inside. It had clearly taken a large number of men to set up the suspended chamber at some point fairly recently. Eagle then looked out over the excavation site.

Five huge metal cords, evenly spaced around the outside of the pit, all converged in the middle and suspended a relatively tiny chamber directly underneath the Black Hole Vortex itself. A thin meandering wave of shadow snaked its way from the chamber into Black Hole's greatest weapon. The ground, far below, was churned up from the excavation process. Eagle turned to Adder,

"You're certain that's where Hawke is?"

"No, he's in the other chamber floating directly beneath the Black Hole Vortex. It's just really well hidden in this empty expanse of air. Eagle, I can see that both stupidity and rashness must run in your family, but what exactly is your plan? You've taken on Hawke before. Perhaps you remember the part where he was immune to bullets? The part where we had to run for our lives?"

"Hawke wanted me alive. That was clear. I think he still does. If I confront him then I'll be in control of the situation. He won't kill me. Then all I need to do is disable the weapon, not take on Hawke"

"And while you give a little speech about how Hawke's a bad man or try and find the big red button or whatever little gesture you've failed to plan, should I do exactly?"

"Adder, I have no time for distractions. You're on your own"

Without another word, Eagle flung open the metal door of the cable car's large main compartment and gestured for Adder to get in. Adder obliged at his own pace and Eagle shut the door behind them with equal violence. He then rushed to the front of the large roofed transport and began to brashly pull levers and push buttons. Eagle didn't know just how scarce time was, but he couldn't waste a second. In a short while the car creaked forwards out of the station into the open air.

As the tiny suspended chamber grew closer, Eagle stayed at the front of cable car, watching the charging room intently in case Hawke were to appear into the open and attack them before they arrived. Eagle's hand rested on his handgun and his mind was focussed entirely on Hawke. Eagle was so preoccupied and, in fact, afraid that he almost forgot Adder for a moment.

This was a fact that didn't escape the pale-skinned CO, whose quick thinking mind immediately recalled something that Lash had once told him about emergency protocols. He quietly slid to the right and bent down next to the benches that lined the sides of the cable car, his actions going unnoticed due to the groaning whirr of the mechanical workings above them.

His bony white fingers emerged from his pockets and began to search under the seat. Finding what he was hoping for, he flicked open a small metal box from below and quickly retrieved his hand and replaced it in his pocket. After he was certain that Eagle still didn't suspect anything, he turned around and examined his prize.

He held a silver revolver in his hands.

Adder may not have been the most technically competent person in existence, but he knew how to operate a firearm, even if he did only learn for self-preservation. It was just as Lash had told him. A single weapon was concealed in every transport craft for emergencies, loaded and ready for immediate use. A hideous smirk crept over Adder's face as he looked at Eagle's back. Adder thought about his options for a second. Not just yet. He concealed the revolver back in his pocket.

Within a minute, the cable car slowly inched into an identical station to the one that they had left. As the two COs jumped out and strolled through the huge grey station, Eagle began to appreciate that this chamber was in fact a fairly large complex in its own right.

They came to the end of the room and were faced by a huge metal door. Eagle gestured for Adder to go forwards, who proceeded to look around the enormous obstacle for a keypad. Finding one, he began to enter another long code. Within another minute, the door slowly began to open outwards after what Eagle saw as an ominous pause. Eagle, beginning to speak and stopping himself several times, looking actively annoyed at himself, finally whispered to his companion,

"If anything happens, Adder, keep moving. Get to cover and stay still. A stationary target is as good as dead. Not that I care about you, or that I intend to help you if anything does happen, but just… try to avoid dying unnecessarily"

Eagle then rushed through the door, Adder running right behind him, trying to use the prince of the skies as a human shield. Thoughts rushed through Adder's mind. The revolver was an ace up his sleeve that nobody would expect him to have. Hawke would surely be grateful for Eagle's capture… but Eagle would be grateful for Hawke's death, or at least the destruction of the White Sun. Where did his priorities lie? Black Hole was his home, but he had everything that he had possessed there in Orange Star. Adder was still undecided as they emerged from the dim corridor into a vast room.

Metal machinery and control panels ran around the perimeter of the circular laboratory, each of them flashing and whirring quite loudly. Many machines produced pipes or wires that ran into the centre of the lab. In the very middle of the area, a metal pedestal rose up from the floor. Black sparks and a dark shimmering mist floating around the top of the small platform. But all of this detail escaped Adder and Eagle's notice. Their focus, paralysed by fear, was on the man that stood on top of the podium, eyes closed, perfectly motionless.

Hawke stood before them.

What looked like wispy black smoke was appearing the air several feet above him before being drawn into a odd looking metal ring that surrounded a hole in the ceiling, which was far above them. From there, a column of darkness rose into the ever growing Black Hole Vortex itself.

Hawke's eyes opened. Eagle and Adder remained where they were. With a wave of his hand to the right, the machinery grew quieter as the sparks around his feet and the black waves above him faded away. He spoke with no emotion in his voice,

"You have taken some time to find me"

Hawke's words shook Eagle and Adder out of their fright, and both leapt into action. Eagle drew his handgun and pointed it at Hawke's forehead. He glanced right and froze. Adder stood facing him, a revolver in hand, pointed at Eagle's chest. Adder kept glancing at Hawke, but the lord of Black Hole gave nothing away. Adder turned to him with increasing desperation in his eyes, anxiously seeking instruction or reassurance from Hawke.

Adder stood there, shaking and sweating. Death from all sides was becoming increasingly likely. He thought about his life. Self-preservation. He smirked. Once a traitor, always a traitor. With a quick spin that lacked both elegance and practice, Adder turned and pointed the revolver at Hawke, who still seemed unfazed by the situation. Adder sneered at his former master,

"It's all over Hawke"

Hawke looked dryly at Adder, a thin frown betraying contempt and scorn for the pathetic pale-faced CO. He said simply,

"Adder, I order you to lower your weapon"

Adder froze, his shaking hands slowly sinking, pain and indecision on his face, looking at Eagle for help, who stared back with a curious fear. Hawke spoke again,

"Adder, you are betraying the lord of Black Hole by your actions. As the rightful lord of Black Hole, I order you to drop your weapon"

As if the silver revolver suddenly burnt his hands, Adder suddenly recoiled, pulling his hands back and letting the gun drop to the floor. He staggered backwards before falling to his knees, his head and hands pressed to the ground. Through choking tears, Adder cried out,

"My lord! My lord! You… I'm sorry, please, you must forgive me… how could you do that to him? Sturm was our lord! I would never do that to you Hawke!"

Adder suddenly scrambled to his feet and leapt forwards. Eagle saw what was coming too late. Before he could turn to point his weapon at Adder, Adder himself had already retrieved his revolver and pointed it at Eagle. He cried out,

"I am your servant, Hawke, and not their slave! I will prove it to you! I'll kill this one to show you! I'll do anything to show you that I am your servant, my lord!"

Eagle stayed silent, confused about what was going on. Hawke was the first to speak,

"That won't be necessary Adder. I now order you to put the gun down and return to the main base via the cable car. Once there, I order you to report to the detention centre and turn yourself in. They are expecting you. Now go"

Adder stumbled backwards, trying to keep his eyes on Hawke, before turning and sprinting out of the room. Eagle called after him by name once, but only Hawke's voice answered him,

"Do not blame Adder for being a coward. It is not his fault. Adder, just like Lash and Flak, was made to be unable to resist the order of the Black Hole lord, not through any power of mine, but because it is written into their very DNA. Sturm made them that way as a safety measure, but it was a trait that I was able to use to my advantage as well"

A look of contempt spread across Eagle's face. Hawke smiled weakly in response and continued,

"I know that you look down on us, but we are quite similar really. We all use the time that we have as well as we can. We all have a set time. We are born and then we die"

"What are you talking about?" replied Eagle, slightly confused by the situation.

"We are all Sturm's creations, but we all dealt with the fact differently. Lash considers it below her to worry about issues of morality and creation, instead focussing entirely on her work. Flak lacks the mental capabilities to consider the complex issue. Adder spent his whole life in denial of the fact, creating little delusions of a childhood. But I always embraced the idea, taking pride in my place in the world"

"You enjoy life as a pawn? Fulfilling someone else's dreams?" replied Eagle, his face expressionless but his voice mocking.

"By 'pawn', I assume that you mean that I lack my own purpose in life. Well, what about you, Eagle? What is your purpose in life, if you have one? What noble aim do you have in your life? What is your goal?" Hawke left a long enough pause to expose Eagle's inability to answer before continuing,

"You humans, normal humans as you see yourselves, are the weak ones with no point in living. How many men died outside in the battle? Who will be remembered? Me or them? Your life is pointless. You make your decisions as you go along, reacting to each crisis as it appears, bluffing your way through life, coming to no fitting conclusion, part of no great plan, resisting Black Hole purely because you think that it's the right thing to do, and then you'll die, leaving behind neither your name or legacy. Is that the purpose in life that I should want?

I was created with purpose. My whole life has revolved around one clear objective, by which I will be judged a success or failure, and a single glorious mission"

"And what would that be?" replied Eagle, his handgun lowered, stalling for time while he glanced around the room, trying to spot an emergency shutdown or self destruct mechanism.

"Revenge, for the insult done to my lord by you, the descendants of White Sun, not just a millennium ago, but in the last two invasions as well"

"It's not that simple. Where does Adder fit into all of this?"

"He was an accident, but one that both Sturm and myself recognised was exceedingly valuable to us. I must thank you for delivering him back to me. Sturm envisaged all that you see before you, and he made us all in our place. Adder is very much like his namesake.

The adder is a vicious snake. It is aggressive and dangerous. But no matter how venomous the creature is, it will always belong on its belly, crawling through the dust, far below the hawk. The hawk can toy with the adder, gripping it in its talons and lifting it high above the earth, elevating it to where it could never get to on its own. But the adder is dependent entirely on the hawk, completely at its mercy.

Every second that he is where I have elevated him to, the snake is so close to being crushed by my talons, and I can let him fall back to where he belongs whenever I wish. He is weak"

"He came to us seeking to rebel. There is more in his mind than what Sturm put there. I think the same is true of you. Admit it, you don't like the idea of Sturm's purpose, do you?"

"Adder's defection was nothing more than a flaw in his programming. As you have just seen, as soon as the arrogant adder and hawk face off, the snake sees that it cannot win, and it backs down, just as our creator intended. Adder is imperfect as he was created by accident. I have had to put up with qualities that are undesirable, I will concede"

"And what about you and Sturm? What did he have planned for you?"

"I was his child. He created me as a successor"

"Or possibly a lackey to wage wars for him. A key to a weapon that he wanted. A mere existence, sadly sentient, designed to power the White Sun, a weapon he valued over your life"

"Silence!" yelled Hawke, anger in his raised voice for the first time. Eagle smiled. He had found Hawke's weak point. This could be used to distract him. Hawke continued to speak loudly and quickly,

"I loved him as a creator and he loved me as a child! I was the greatest of his creations! I was made to continue his line!"

"Right up until you killed him"

"I had no choice! He was my master, but he made a critical error of judgement in attempting to sacrifice all of our lives! He lost track of his vision at some point! He was willing to sacrifice everything he had built for a single moment of revenge against the leaders of our enemies, ignoring the enemies of our people and our mission!

Where there is life, there is opportunity. He was going to die anyway, so I feel no shame in granting him a similar fate while allowing the rest of us to survive and continue his mission. I had no choice but to supplant him slightly earlier than he had intended and continue his true mission as well as I could in his stead. Simply consider that I outgrew the nest early"

"Most fledglings don't depend on the death of their fathers"

"Oh Eagle," said Hawke with a laugh, "I think you'll find that that is something that we have in common. Think about your own youth. You couldn't grow up and live your own life until your father had died. Until he stopped shielding you from the world under his wing, you couldn't grow or find yourself"

"How did you know that?" demanded Eagle, faint memories of his father rushing back to him, the last time he had seen him before…

"Your situation mirrors mine. Sturm didn't use his own DNA to create me. He always refused to allow his genetic code to be used in experiments for some reason. He wanted to use another man's genetic information. He wanted to use a powerful Commanding Officer's DNA. He wanted the most powerful man of that generation, and the most talented warrior that Sturm had ever fought, and he chose your father"

"No! It's not true! You're lying!"

"He fell into Black Hole's hands for a short while. I do not know the details. But I do know that Sturm used his DNA as a basis for my own. A powerful CO created not one, but two successors, you and me. Through his fall, my life began, just as your life did. I took a great interest in the man, and I feel great pride to be his child, just like you do. You and all the people of Green Earth made him an idol, as did I. We are sprung from the same blood, and we ourselves are, if you think about it, the same"

"It's not true! You're nothing like me!"

"And you are far from identical to our father. Strip away our allegiances and our opinions and you'll find the spare person underneath. It's funny how we all see in our idols the exact same qualities that we would like to exist in ourselves. Our father was himself not perfect. You like to live according to the principles that he laid out in speeches, but he didn't live by them throughout his life. He did terrible things"

Eagle closed his eyes for a second, forgetting his aims… he had seen the footage from the rallies. He heard what his father had said before he had left again…

"But when I think of our father" continued Hawke, "I think of his deeds in war, and his power. You may have become what he wanted to be in peacetime, but I am what he was in war. I am the side of him that you always pretended wasn't there. And yet… you possess something of his character that I do not. Ultimately, we are two halves of a great whole. We are both the diluted shadows of a powerful man. But together we can finish his work. Your strength and mine can be combined, and our successor can rule the world, just as our father would have done if his time had not been cut short"

"You came from his death. You killed him" said Eagle slowly in a vicious bitter whisper, furious at these revelations, gripping his handgun tightly.

"I had little say in the matter, Eagle. I have the utmost respect for the man, and I will continue to remember his strength. From what I hear, he was a great leader, just like Sturm, but his aim was misguided"

"What would you know of his aims! You think that because your DNA is similar that you have any right to say anything about my father!"

"His spirit was strong and his method was war. It mattered little to him that he was a part of Green Earth. The nation that you defend so zealously was just a tool to him. You don't honestly buy into all this good versus evil nonsense, do you? To think, the prince of the skies fooled by a piece of White Sun propaganda. That nation tried to destroy my country completely. Your own country has the heritage of blood, not mine. Resist me now, and Green Earth will never find peace, trapped in a never ending conflict against Black Hole. You only fight to defend yourself really. Don't. Join me. Together, we can end all the bloodshed now"

Eagle was silent. After a long pause, Hawke continued,

"I have the greatest respect for you Eagle. You proved to me in the second invasion that you were my equal, and the greatest of the COs that resisted me, all without any genetic tampering. Imagine what we could create together. Join me, brother"

"I'll never join you, and I'll die before aiding your plan"

"As I expected, selflessly brave to the last, I knew that the great Eagle would never be happier than if he could lay down his life for his country. But it's not just your life on the line, unfortunately for you, brother. I am in control of the most powerful weapon that has ever existed, and your friends are all in range of it. Your friend, Drake. Your comrade, Jess. And, of course, that girl, Sami. How about it, Eagle? A pardon for those three in return for your aid. Their lives are in your hands"

"Every other man will die no matter what I choose" said Eagle, clearly pained, "but those three… would do the same in my position. Hawke, I can never join you. I will take my own life before willingly helping you"

"Perhaps a demonstration of my power will make you reconsider…"

With these words, Hawke closed his eyes and removed a glove. Eagle watched, horror-struck. A tiny black ball shimmered in Hawke's hand. He was going to set off the weapon. Eagle charged forwards, his comrades' faces flashing before his eyes, screaming for Hawke to stop. With a wave of Hawke's free hand, Eagle was knocked back by a surge of shadow, sent sliding back through the room. As he came to a halt and shook himself, Hawke's voice boomed across the lab as the podium he was on began to shake, along with the whole chamber,

"It is unfortunate that you all found your way here sooner than I had anticipated. I would have liked more time to charge the weapon. I may not be as strong as I would like, but my successor will be stronger. Still, I have strength enough left in me to avenge many wounds of the past!"

With that, Hawke's hand flew upwards, and the tiny ball shot through the hole in the ceiling and into the Black Hole Vortex. The huge sphere of darkness that had hovered in the centre of the White Sun trembled and began to pulsate increasingly rapidly. Suddenly it shattered and lashing tendrils of darkness spread from the centre to the white stone crown of Hawke's base. The shadows raced in circles, growing faster and darker until there was nothing left except a black ring.

Then, without warning, the ring of shadow exploded outwards, tearing towards the alliance's army. All the Orange Star, Blue Moon, Green Earth and Yellow Comet troops froze as the hypnotic process played out in front of them.

Many of the soldiers were veterans of the second war. They had experienced Black Wave before. It was like a rain that brought death, but it only injured about one in five men, and only killed those that were already injured. This Black Hole Vortex resembled a jet-black tidal wave, huge and unstoppable. Nothing it hit could ever survive.

They watched as it raced towards them. There was silence and stillness. Whatever was going to happen was already set in stone. Running and screaming would help nobody. The wave came closer, tearing apart the very ground it crossed. It was within a few hundred metres now.

Then it stopped.

The wave stopped, and there was silence across the battlefield.

A second later, the wall of darkness retreated as fast as it had approached, leaving a trail of darkness behind it, striking the White Sun and forming back into a significantly smaller black sphere in the centre.

On the very front lines of the alliance's army, two COs embraced. The taller one remarked,

"Without your intelligence and well executed strategic retreat, many more men would have died today, daughter"

"Without your bravery, spirit and strength, that wave would have hit us, father"

Without another word, Kanbei and Sonja walked back to the command centre, each possessing a new respect for the other's abilities.

Another CO looked at the White Sun, unsure what was going on inside. The woman sighed,

"Eagle… please come back…"

Meanwhile, Eagle and Hawke were oblivious to Kanbei and Sonja having moved back the army to a safe distance. Eagle tried to get to his feet after being hit by another wave of shadow. Hawke smiled unconvincingly as he subtly swayed,

"As you can see, I have power enough to destroy all your friends. How about this brother? In return for your co-operation, amnesty for all COs that give themselves up to me, and a six month cease-fire in which no Black Hole troop will be present in Blue Moon or Orange Star"

"I will never… join you" said Eagle in great pain as he struggled to his feet.

"Eagle, I am a reasonable man, but even I can only be pushed so far. To recreate our father is a whim, but if you persist in this insolence then I will simply take all of your friends by force and kill you here"

Eagle could see that he was running out of time. Hawke was getting impatient, and the weapon had already been fired once. He couldn't dwell on who might be dead, he just had to think… he watched Hawke… he seemed weaker… something that Sonja had told him… the mechanism… it was weakening him, even killing him…

Eagle looked at the control panel. What had Hawke done when he had turned off the charging mechanism? Eagle's eyes scanned the controls. Most of the buttons and levers seemed to be in a neutral position… except for one. Eagle leapt up, all of his remaining strength put into a single sprint.

Hawke saw what he was doing, but was too weak to use Black Wave, and had not been expecting Eagle to have the strength to get up again. A look of surprise crossed his face. Eagle leapt at the controls and pulled the single anomalous lever. Immediately, the machines whirred into life and sparks formed around Hawke's feet as the CO, already weak, was drained of even more energy. As Hawke cried out with a choking scream, Eagle took his chance. With a single movement, his handgun was drawn and primed, pointing at Hawke's writhing body.

He pulled the trigger.

A deafening explosion rang through the room, and, for a split second, Hawke felt something he had never known before. Fear. For a fraction of a second, he saw the bullet tear through the air. Then it hit him.

Without his strength, the impact to his chest knocked him off his raised platform and he fell heavily onto the metal floor as he tried to stand up. Eagle stepped around the raised podium, his weapon still raised. Hawke saw him approach and crawled backwards, desperation in his face. Eagle fired again, the bullet passing through Hawke's arm, and then another hitting his stomach. Hawke collapsed backwards as Eagle emptied the remaining three bullets of the clip into Hawke's chest.

Hawke raised his hand and tried to use Black Wave to heal himself, but he lacked the power to use it, his arm falling limply to his side.

Eagle turned to the podium and looked up at the Black Hole Vortex that was left. It was quivering. Too late Eagle realised his mistake. Sonja's instructions had been to stop any contrary energy wave entering the Vortex. When Hawke had been knocked off his platform, it had been set to charge. Energy that was not Black Wave energy was presently flowing into the Vortex. That would cause… what had Sonja said… a chain reaction that would make the weapon fire inwards, destroying it completely.

Eagle sighed as he unhurriedly flicked the charging platform off. The damage was done. He would die, but he would take Hawke and the White Sun with him. That would surely get him a statue in the Green Earth capital. He smiled. That was one statue of him built, and Jess hadn't got one yet. At least in death he'd win the bet. Eagle, exhausted and rather battered, slumped next to the podium. As the weapon's energy had been depleted, he deduced, the chain reaction that would kill him would take a while. Eagle didn't fear death, but it was waiting that was annoying. Hawke was just still alive. He was taking very quick shallow breathes. Then a faint voice emerged from his lips,

"Eagle…"

"Hawke, I have to know before I die, is everything you told me true about… our father"

"Yes. I am a part of our father, as you are. I am all the family you have left. We need each other"

"You are the other side of my father. The side that I hid from myself out of hatred. You are everything that I pretended wasn't there. You possess his cruel cunning and vicious anger. I am everything that was noble in him. The dignified words that he spoke, I follow them. I am everything good that came out of him. You are a smear against his name"

"I am what he was, nothing more and nothing less. You are what he wanted to be, or what he spoke of. I am him, and you are a delusion of his mind. Your whole life is based on nothing more than empty words. You hide behind meaningless rhetoric and one day you will regret your choice.

It's not too late yet, Eagle. My last deed could be to hand over control of Black Hole to you. Your father showed you a false face. I saw the real man. If you truly idolise him then follow the truth, as I have"

"If that is the case then I do not wish to become my father"

Hawke raised his head slowly to look at his hands and chest. Both were covered in a thick black liquid that seeped from his wounds. He finally answered, his head back and eyes closed, sweating and breathing with difficulty,

"Then you are truly weak… I gave you the chance to fulfil your destiny… to pursue the legacy you were born into… to become what you are… but you don't possess his power… that fell to me alone… bluster is all that you inherited from a great warrior… I gave you the chance to be a part of the greatest empire that has ever existed… to rule the world and then leave it in the hands of a great man…"

"That is not the way it is supposed to be"

"I swear to you that Black Hole will never desist from its purpose. I swear that you will fall before us"

"Unlike you, I will not swear anything I cannot be certain of, but I will tell you that I will always be there to defend Green Earth from your nation. My father was a flawed man, but still a good one. He was misguided, but he would never want any of this. You are what he hated about himself and I am what he sought to be"

"Heed this warning Eagle. I swear that one day you will see your folly and regret your choice"

With these words, Hawke fell backwards and lay still. Eagle walked over to him. No pulse. Hawke was dead. Eagle walked back to where he had been and looked up. Black shadows were swirling around the White Sun. The chamber was trembling and he could see chunks of white stone falling from the weapon. He would soon be dead, but at least he would die knowing the truth. Eagle settled down to await the inevitable.

Suddenly, there was a deafening roar as an explosion tore out the far wall of the chamber. Anything that was loose was blown back as Eagle covered his eyes to see an Orange Star T-copter. As he watched it with some confusion, the door was flung open and Sami appeared in the doorway, calling out,

"Eagle, hurry! The Vortex's structure is destabilising!"

Eagle struggled to his feet again and limped towards Sami before stopping for a second. He hated himself right now. Why did he have to be so damn compassionate all the time? He shouted out,

"Wait there for a second. I've got to get something"

Eagle staggered back to the station as quickly as he could. The cable car was still there. He looked around and called out,

"Adder! Where are you?"

A pathetic whimpering from the corner of the station betrayed the cowering CO's position. As eagle grabbed him and dragged him back to the T-copter, Adder made no attempt to stand up. Instead he snivelled,

"I heard everything before. My lord… he said I had flawed programming… I'm a useless device… my lord has disowned me… I have no purpose… I have no mission in life…"

"Then you've taken your first step to being a normal person" replied Eagle brusquely. Adder tried to stand up and the two COs staggered back into the main room, supporting each other. But as Hawke's body came into sight, Adder leapt up and staggered backwards before quietly hissing and saying,

"Hawke is… dead… then… I am the lord of Black Hole! I am what I deserve to be! Finally, my purpose in life is complete! I am the lord of Black Hole!"

"Adder, we've have to go!"

"I am the lord of Black Hole, and I will be address as such, plebeian. Anyway, the lord of Black Hole doesn't have to do anything"

"You'll die if you stay here!"

"So? Leave then. I am the lord of Black Hole, and I am in control of the most powerful weapon in existence. Everything in my life is complete. I am happy. You are dismissed. I will die as lord of Black Hole, the most powerful man in existence, and the nation will mourn, and I will be given a huge burial mound, and a giant statue, and everyone will want to put flowers on my grave, nice flowers, expensive ones, and I shall be written into history as a lord"

"Adder…"

"I am lord of Black Hole! Why aren't you afraid of me? When you saw Hawke you froze in fear, I want that reaction! Kneel before me or fear my wrath!"

The chamber suddenly tilted to one side as one of the five metal cables that supported it snapped. Adder stumbled to one side before regaining his balance and shouting out,

"As lord of Black Hole, I command this complex to stop falling apart!"

Eagle sighed. He was going to regret this in the morning. He called out,

"Adder! Look! Fresh Coffee!"

"Oh, where?" replied the tragic, pathetic man, spinning around. Eagle took two steps forwards and struck Adder around the back of the neck with his elbow. Adder fell forwards, and Eagle grabbed him and put him over his shoulder. The two hopped into the T-copter, which rapidly soared out from underneath the White Sun. Eagle laid Adder on the floor and fell down next to him. He was quite tired and wounded. He turned his head to Sami,

"What happened?"

"Don't worry, the army got clear"

"What about Black Hole?"

"They retreated after we pulled back. They must have known that the Black Hole Vortex would fire shortly. They left us to Hawke's weapon"

Knowing that everyone he cared about was safe, Eagle fell back, his strength exhausted. Sami smiled and kissed him once on the forehead. As they soared through the skies, the White Sun's stone structure fell apart, scattering blocks of white rock across the pastures. The swirling black shadows tore apart the black stone towers, which fell on the structures below.

In the final moments, the black darkness exploded outwards to form an immense black dome before shrinking rapidly and exploding into the skies. The darkness dissipated into the heavens, and the final impact left nothing on the site. There was no evidence that the White Sun had ever existed, just a huge crater.

The White Sun was destroyed.


	21. A Winding Path

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Hey all, I'm back from sunny Rome! I did indeed manage to find the White Sun (we always knew that the Flavian Amphitheatre had a dark secret really) and, set to its lowest setting, it's actually quite nice to sit in front of. Therefore, my skin is tanned, my wallet is empty and my hair is… well, much the same as ever, if perhaps slightly more wild (I fear it doesn't like the heat and sun). But most importantly, I have had plenty of time to think about these fics, so more on the way soon!

Sorry that this chapter is a little short, but I wanted to leave it as a cliff-hanger, so I hope you all have sleepless nights with fevered dreams of Adder occasionally.

Anyway, read, enjoy, REVIEW, cheers in advance, Jon Foulds, glad to be back in England's green and pleasant lands.

Days passed after the destruction of the White Sun. The alliance's army withdrew to the west coast of Green Earth, slightly lacking focus. The White Sun may have been removed from the equation, but there had been no party to celebrate the fact. The alliance had lost significant numbers of men, and the war was far from over.

Most soldiers had lost a friend or family member. Morale was fairly low after the elation of the victory wore off. Now the alliance just waited and brought in reinforcements from abroad, having no choice but to wait and see how matters played out.

Many planes and helicopters were lying motionless on the grassy pastures. Slightly to the north, the entire alliance navy stood at anchor, stretching out far to sea. Further inland, huge amounts of military equipment were surrounded by a sea of tents and wooden buildings. The perimeter wall that they had thrown up, made of stone, which was always covered with scouts and soldiers, was just visible on the horizon from a high place.

As the third day drew to a close and the dusk cast orange ripples across the calm sea, two men walked down a beach, staring forwards. Drake turned to his companion,

"So where do we go from here?"

"I say what I've been saying for three days! We should strike now!" replied Eagle without hesitation

"Well, if you really want to. What are our problems, then?"

"The most pressing problem is that Flak and Lash are still unaccounted for, and they are both in possession of a sizeable army. Hawke's base was home to a huge number of troops, and a large part of the Black Hole airforce, never mind the many new weapons that Lash might decide to use if she's now in control"

"What about your problems?"

"What?"

"You said that you were able to keep Hawke talking, but you didn't tell anyone exactly how. Am I right in thinking that maybe that was deliberate?"

"Of course not. We were discussing… all the battles that we had fought against each other in the second invasion… he was asking for advice and I was sharing some of my wisdom with him, and…"

"Eagle, I've been your friend for a long time. Please tell me what's troubling you, and I won't tell anyone else. And if Jess asks where we were, I'll tell her that you were telling me about why bombers are better than tanks"

"Hawke told me some things…"

"Yes"

"About my past… about my father"

"Ah, the legendary Phoenix. He was a good man"

"I envy you for knowing him as well as you did"

"I didn't really know him that well. It was just… our paths just happened to cross from time to time… quite a few times actually"

"Well, Hawke made me think about him"

"Was he playing mind games with you?"

"Something like that. Are you sure that he was a good person. Hawke spoke about… terrible things"

"He was a CO, just like you and me. We do terrible things to earn our fee. Men die under our command. Our mistakes cost other families their loved ones. Our successes bring death to the innocent pawns in Sturm's game. But you can't dwell on the negatives. We both became COs not because we wanted to do terrible things, but because even more terrible things would happen if we weren't COs. It isn't a perfect system, but it's all we have"

"You're right, of course. My father was in a difficult position…"

"So you think that Lash will have taken power?" said Drake, trying to steer the conversation away from painful memories.

"Without any doubt. Flak lacks the intelligence or ability to seize authority. I recall him being largely dependent on the instructions of others during the second invasion, so I must be right, as usual"

"Of course Eagle" said Drake with a suppressed laugh, "But assuming that the others might disagree with the striking now plan, what do you think we'll do next?"

"I'd imagine that that is in the hands of Yellow Comet's little strategist" said Eagle with clear scorn in his voice.

"Of course" replied Drake, determined to stay away from another discussion about the reasons and really good reasons why Eagle should be in control, "We should head back soon. She wanted to talk to all of us just after sunset"

"I don't take orders from a Yellow Comet tactician"

"So when are you going to arrive?"

"I'll go back now with you, but that is entirely my choice, and I'd be doing it irrespective of Sonja's little meeting"

"Of course, Eagle"

As the COs began to gather in a small temporary wooden building that had been thrown up for meetings, Sonja sat in her tent, holding her eyes open as she stared at a laptop. Endless numbers, diagrams and coloured blobs ran over the screen, although Sonja couldn't be entirely sure that some of the more oddly shaped diagrams weren't simply the result of sleep depravation. She went over the numbers one more time…

She was right. The numbers were all correct. As much as Sonja had been desperately hoping to be completely wrong, her conclusion was a scientific certainty. She had played for time for as long as she could, and now she had to tell the others the truth, even if it wasn't good news.

She sighed and stood up, switching off the computer as she went. Sonja opened the flap covering the entrance to her tent and recoiled from the fairly dim evening light. She had been in a dark tent for too long. As she walked the short distance from the Yellow Comet command area to the meeting room, she was joined by Sensei and Kanbei, who greeted and embraced her warmly before following her to the conference room.

As the Yellow Comet COs entered, they saw that everyone was already in attendance. Nell, Sami and Eagle appeared to have recovered with nothing more than scratches to show for their near deaths, and Jess was now on crutches and almost completely independent again. Even Kanbei was fine, bar a small grey patch on his chest and back. Adder too was present, although he seemed to be in the middle of one of his 'I am the lord of Black Hole! I don't do camping!' rants, but nobody appeared to be listening.

As the majority of the room fell quiet in their plastic seats, and then Eagle threw something slightly too large and heavy to be appropriate for the task at Adder, thus completing the silence, Sonja moved to the front of the area and pulled some notes on a piece of paper from her pocket. She took a deep breath, paused, breathed out and then breathed in again before beginning to speak,

"Thank you for all coming to this meeting at fairly short notice. We are nominally here to discuss our options for a course of action, but we have more pressing concerns, unfortunately.

Before anyone objects to anything, I would like to say that I am absolutely certain that I am correct in my suppositions, as I have been over the evidence repeatedly. When I spoke to him earlier, Eagle made it clear to me that Hawke's entire body was a vessel for Black Wave energy. His strength came from this energy, so when Eagle was able to drain the Black Wave force away, Hawke was vulnerable to even conventional weaponry.

Unfortunately, we failed to consider the effect that the collapse of the Black Hole Vortex would have on Hawke's body…"

"You cannot be serious!" yelled Eagle from the audience leaping out of his seat, "Sonja! You are not telling me what I think you are suggesting!"

"I have no option but to conclude" continued Sonja, not meeting Eagle's burning gaze, "that the huge concentration of Black Wave energy created by the collapse of the White Sun will have revived Hawke"

There was total silence in the room. The COs sat in total shock. Adder sounded like he wanted to speak, but was unable to start, shaking violently instead, his thin mouth trembling as he breathed shallowly. Sonja paused and then continued,

"Sadly, there is more to tell. Hawke's strength and abilities seem to be directly proportional to the presence of Black Wave energy within him, which explains why charging the White Sun made him weak recently. The chain reaction that destroyed the White Sun contained an immense amount of energy. Indeed, it will be more than Hawke has possessed before.

The fact that he died at all means that his own life-force is now wholly depleted, and he is presently living on borrowed time. As soon as the energy that revived him fades, then he will die, and be unable to return"

"What are you trying to tell us, Sonja?" snapped Eagle

"The Hawke that we faced in the second invasion and during this attack has always been calm and collected. He always had a plan, and he always stayed in control. The Hawke we knew was able to continue recharging his strength through Black Wave, giving him all the time in the world.

But now Hawke has a time limit. Every second that passes is a second closer to his certain death. Hawke's tactics could be completely unpredictable now. He may attack rashly, or he may not. This combined with the fact that I have no idea what such a huge amount of Black Wave energy might have done to his mental state, and the fact that he will definitely be more powerful than he has ever been"

"What do you mean more powerful? What will have changed?" demanded Eagle.

"Hawke previously used Black Wave and Black Storm according to how much energy he had charged within himself. Eagle has seen that he is quite able to use Black Wave while very weak. But now an unimaginable amount of power is coursing through his body. I have no choice but to conclude that Hawke can effectively fire the Black Hole Vortex again by releasing its energy from himself. If he feels threatened and fears that he will lose, it is not unlikely that he will take his final vengeance by wiping us all out with Black Hole Vortex, killing both us and him"

"Thank you for the positive assessment of the situation. What should we do?" replied Eagle.

"Hawke may be the most powerful that we have ever encountered, but we know that time is now on our side. He will die in time, we won't"

"Then we should retreat immediately and defend the coast of Orange Star" suggested Sami

"Sadly, we cannot follow that wise course of action. Reconnaissance forces in Yellow Comet have reported with absolute certainty that Black Hole's naval force in Blue Moon has been combined with Yellow Comet's within the last twenty-four hours. Hawke knows that the best option would be to retreat, and he's ensured that we can't. In time, we could pull together a force to break the Black Hole navy, but we don't have the resources to do so right now"

"Fine, fine, so what should we do then?" snapped Eagle, clearly getting impatient.

"We must keep reminding ourselves of Hawke's objectives. With the White Sun destroyed, his most important remaining project is his successor, which will have become even more important with Hawke's imminent demise. This means that his primary objective is to retrieve Adder. If he succeeds then his successor will be, we must assume, unstoppable. Therefore, we have no choice except to draw up defensive lines in Green Earth and await Hawke's onslaught. If we can repel him then we have truly won"

"Then we kill Adder now" replied Eagle coldly, not even glancing at Adder who began looking around for allies frantically.

"No. Hawke only fired the Black Hole Vortex before when Adder was safely inside the complex. Adder may draw Hawke to us, but he will also protect us from any strike that could potentially kill him"

"What about Flak and Lash?" snapped Eagle, increasingly annoyed that he was being continually contradicted by a young girl.

"I've no idea where they will fit into this. I would think it likely that Hawke would strike without them. His urgent need for Adder must be making him rash and overly hasty, and this is something that we can use to our advantage"

Suddenly, a Green Earth soldier burst into the room and exclaimed,

"Commander Eagle, a Black Hole T-copter has just come into visual range. The pilot won't respond to our communications"

The COs leapt up and hurried out of the room, led by Eagle. They rushed past a number of tents and temporary structures to the small cliff that led onto the beach and scanned the skies. A T-copter was approaching rapidly from inland, flying somewhat unsteadily. Eagle turned to the soldier that had followed them,

"Tell them to land on the beach, and make it clear to them that we will shoot them down if they do anything else. Make sure that we have enough equipment pointing at the exact spot that it lands on. I want us to be able to have it torn apart in seconds"

"Yes sir!"

"If Flak and Lash have been discarded by Hawke" said Sonja after a pause, "then it's possible that one of them might come to join up with us"

"Which one?" asked Sami

"I'm not sure" replied Sonja, "Lash has the intelligence to see that we are the only ones who could defend her, but it's equally true that Flak could come to us simply because Adder is here"

As nobody replied, the COs stood in an uneasy silence while the sun sank into the sea completely, leaving only a red glow in the western skies. Within a few minutes, and with anti aircraft weaponry and indirect combat units lining the cliff face, the T-copter floated overhead and suddenly descended inelegantly, hitting the sandy shoreline too hard and leaving the rear end of the transport craft buried in a sand dune.

After a pause that seemed far too long, the door opened slightly and then closed again, as if it was too heavy to move. With a groaning noise, the door was flung back and it banged against the side of the helicopter. Nobody stood behind it. Then the COs saw a flicker of movement in the dimly lit helicopter.

Suddenly the air was full of the sound of rifles being raised and primed, combined with the creaks of artillery units making tiny alterations to their aim. As the COs themselves raised any weapon that they had to hand, the figure moved from behind the door and stepped out into the light. Every CO and the entire army froze.

Standing in the frame of the T-copter's door, motionless and imposing, was Hawke.


	22. Hawke's Choice

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Hey all, welcome back to Hawke's Vengeance, the home of the cliff-hangers. Now, gentle readers, I must request, nay, implore you. AW fic authors, join forces! We must all write more than we ever have before! Just so you know, this is part of a long running hatred by me of that damn game that shall not be named two places below us in the Games section… (hiss), and the fact that, despite the fact that AW is far superior in terms of story potential, they get (at the time of writing) 147 fics, whereas we have only 129! I say we must do all we can to overtake these heretics! So write one shots! Write poems! Write songs! Write parodies! Write epics! Write anything, dear reader, and soon we will have a section with over 150 fics!

Oh yes, and, just to help to help the cause, here's chapter 22 of Hawke's Vengeance (meh, I'll write something new tomorrow), so read, enjoy and REVIEW, cheers in advance, Foulds.

Every man that lined the sandy cliffs was paralysed. Hawke stood in his T-copter, completely alone, staring out. Eagle was the first to move, turning to his sub-commander,

"Prepare to…"

"Eagle!" snapped Sonja, "Don't!"

"He's here to use Black Hole Vortex! He could kill us all! Commander, tell the…"

"Why would he kill himself now?" hissed Sonja, "He's still got a full army strong enough to destroy us! Anyway, he wouldn't dare kill Adder!"

"If something goes wrong then it's your fault, girl. I hope you understand that you're gambling with all our lives"

Both COs turned to the left where Adder was struggling but being held back by Kanbei. He screamed to be let go, but was powerless against Yellow Comet's emperor. Sonja called out to them,

"Let him go. Hawke's not going anywhere in that T-copter, and it saves us the risk of going down ourselves"

Adder was released and he scrambled over the grass to the cliff, intermittently running and falling down the sandstone incline. He hit the beach with a groan, pulling himself to his feet, but continuing to stumble in his haste, all the time calling out Hawke's name.

Hawke didn't reply or seem to be aware of Adder's presence. In fact, the COs noticed that he seemed oblivious to anything at all. He was actually leaning against the inside of the T-copter. He was breathing heavily, though he seemed to be trying to keep this fact hidden. His presence wasn't as imposing as it had been. He almost seemed to be a broken man, a shadow of his former self.

As Adder scrambled onwards, rushing past sand dunes as well as he could with his feeble body, Hawke swayed slightly, appearing unable to hold open his eyes. Perhaps seeing Adder for a second, he reached out with his left arm, grasped at the empty air and fell forwards, revealing the terrible truth.

As Hawke collapsed onto the sandy beach, Adder recoiled and the COs gasped. Hawke's black coat, in former times kept clean and faultless, was torn open across his back. The material had been ripped apart in several places, and the black ooze that Eagle had seen once before seeped from the long and deep gashes that covered the fallen CO's body. Adder approached the motionless Hawke cautiously and smeared a tiny quantity of the black substance onto his finger as he began to choke, rapidly turning away from Hawke's unconscious form. He screamed up to the COs,

"He's hurt! Get a doctor! Get a doctor… get a…"

Adder could say no more as he curled up next to Hawke, facing away from him, unable to speak or move. Eagle turned to Sonja,

"What is going on? I thought that Hawke would be made more powerful, not weakened like this"

"He should be" replied the girl, "and of that fact I am certain"

"Then something has happened that we are unaware of"

"Indeed. Hawke wouldn't come to us to fight if he was this weak. We must assume that he hasn't come to engage in battle"

"Then leave him there"

"He's our only source of intel at the moment. We have to try and help him"

Eagle didn't reply as Sonja dismissed most of the troops and sent for medics. The COs cautiously descended the cliff and lifted Hawke onto a stretcher, before Max and Olaf, as the men to have suffered least of all from Hawke personally, carried him to a small structure that had been set up as one of many hospitals.

Hawke remained unconscious for hours, occasionally struggling in a fitful sleep. Now that night had fallen, the COs came and went in shifts, but Adder stayed by his side for the whole time. The pale faced CO had been eager enough to finish off Hawke when it would give him power, but he couldn't bear to have to watch his lord dying. Then, after two hours, a small detail struck Adder, who immediately flew out of his seat and began a rant in Sami's direction, who was unfortunate enough to be watching over Hawke with some Orange Star infantrymen at that moment,

"Hang on… if Hawke's alive then that means… I'm not lord of Black Hole… but… I was a really good lord! Oh, the historians are going to love this! You know what it's going to say in the Black Hole history archives? I'll tell you what it'll say! 'Adder; shortest reigning leader of anything ever. At 12.45 p.m. he became the Lord of Black Hole. Then at 12.48 p.m. his title was usurped by a corpse!' Oh, now I'll never get that statue!"

Adder then fell to his knees and began to cry. He recovered in a few minutes, and sat back down next to Hawke, staring at him with intermittent grief and rage.

An hour later, as the first light appeared on the eastern horizon, Hawke began to mumble to himself, and the COs were called together. Whatever Hawke might say, it was important enough for everyone to hear. After several minutes of cryptic remarks and frantic struggling, Hawke weakly opened his eyes.

He was a pitiable sight now. The alliance had no idea how to treat his wounds, so they had been left with no choice but to simply try and stop the bleeding. Hawke was still wearing his long black coat, but it was now wrapped in bandages. His face was covered in sweat. He seemed very weak. He looked around, his trembling head, which he could barely keep up, eventually settling on Adder. Quiet words escaped from his throat as his head fell backwards again,

"Adder… the White Sun… what happened?"

"It was destroyed, my lord. Eagle's actions set off a chain reaction"

"You… idiot"

"What?" yelled Adder, compassion suddenly gone from his voice. He leapt up from his seat, clearly furious. Before he could say anything else, Hawke, more conviction in his voice now, continued,

"I die for ten minutes, leaving you in charge, and you manage to destroy the most powerful weapon that Black Hole has ever possessed"

"Well you didn't exactly do a great job either!"

"Why didn't you disengage the energy field? You could have saved the weapon"

"I was unconscious!"

"Idiot"

"Eagle knocked me out!"

"You couldn't even stay conscious for long enough to press the emergency disengage button?"

"Oh don't you reproach me for being knocked out by Eagle! At least I was able to survive Eagle's attack! At least I wasn't dead, unlike some people, Hawke!"

Before he could say anything else, Adder was dragged out of the room by Kanbei, kicking and screaming. Sonja approached Hawke's bed, sitting down on the wooden chair that Adder had been perched on previously. She said simply,

"Hawke. What are you doing here? What caused your injuries?"

"I trust that you have already figured out my plan, and that you know everything about my intentions"

"Yes. We know everything now"

"Good. My successor is alive. The creature will destroy you all"

"Hawke, it would greatly to your advantage to answer our questions honestly. Now, what is your successor?"

"There is no need for threats. I have come here to tell you everything by choice. It is a CO, and the greatest that has ever lived. It has the most powerful abilities of Jess, Andy, Sturm, Phoenix, Flak, Lash and myself. It is completely unstoppable. It is tactically perfect, and possesses incredible strength"

"What is it?"

"It is human… in a way. It possesses the appearance of Sturm, before the White Sun attack. That was part of Sturm's purpose. He wanted to live again, as it were"

"What do you mean, to live again?"

"Sturm bitterly resented the loss of his body. He wanted to regain it, one way or another. Long before I was born, there was another. A boy by the name of Deinos. The records for that period are very vague and largely incomplete, but I believe that Master Sensei may have once encountered the boy, yes?"

"That was a long time ago. It is in the past now" replied Sensei

"Very well, what is it called?" asked Sonja

"Oh come now" replied Hawke with a smile, "You should know that already. Sturm gave it away once. The creature's mental programme was tested in the clone Andy during the first invasion. Eagle, I believe that you were there. Did anything that he said strike you as strange?"

"There was one thing that he said… but I can't remember" replied the prince of the skies grudgingly.

"He said 'Maelstrom come'. A rather cryptic phrase"

"Maelstrom?" asked Sonja

"Yes. As Sturm himself chose, that is the weapon's name"

"Very well, but why are you here? What happened?"

"I awoke in the crater left by the White Sun's destruction. I managed to find my way back to the army, and then travelled by T-copter by my base. Maelstrom was in the very lowest basement. Faced with the loss of the White Sun and the sudden potential of losing this war, I saw no other option except to release him, even though it was premature"

"And the injuries?"

"A country with two lords could not operate. The clash of commands, especially when dealing with simple minded clones, could have torn Black Hole apart. My last act was to disown all authority in favour of Maelstrom. When he awoke, his first action was to try and kill me"

"Why?"

"Because that is what it is meant to do. The weapon was designed to crush everything before it. As a member of the previous generation and as a weaker creature, he attempted to take my life. I couldn't face my death. Where there is life, there is opportunity. Therefore, having barely escaped with my life, I fled here"

"As nothing more than a coward fleeing his death" sneered Eagle

"No. I have come to fight alongside you"

"What?" exclaimed Eagle, "You've just created and released our enemy, and now you expect us to trust you"

"If I meant you harm then you would all be dead already. My body may be weak, but I have enough Black Wave energy to survive and crush you all"

"Then why?" demanded Eagle

"My purpose is complete. My obligation to Sturm has now been fulfilled. It was his will that I recover and use the White Sun and create his successor. I have done both. I owe him my life, and I have died, so that debt has been repaid as well. Sturm's work is finished, and now I am free"

"I don't understand" replied Sonja

"I no longer bear you any ill will, and I apologise for my conduct. You must understand that what I have done was out of loyalty to my master. It pained me to do it as much it hurt you to endure what I did. Sturm's purpose is done, so I must adopt a new purpose now. I must crush Maelstrom, and rebuild Black Hole on better principles. I fear that Sturm misunderstood what he was doing"

"If you already knew this, why did you release this thing?" exclaimed Eagle angrily.

"What right do I have to question my creator?" replied Hawke, mild annoyance evident in his voice, "My life was created to complete this task. You wouldn't understand, but only with my due fulfilled can I make amends for the mistakes that I made along the way"

"Why do you think that Sturm misunderstood?" asked Sonja calmly.

"Sturm's work has no future. Maelstrom will produce clones and weapons with no mental abilities of their own, but he himself lacks a human mind. He will instinctively destroy everything before him with a mindless army. When he dies, nobody will replace him. He will destroy everything except Black Hole, but then Black Hole itself will fall within a generation. Sturm's plan was flawed. I have no choice but to conclude that Sturm was as flawed as the rest of us"

"Why didn't you see all of this earlier?" asked Eagle.

"Do you live your life by perfect principles, always doing what is right and logical, and never following anything blindly?"

"No"

"Then do now reproach me for doing the will of my creator. I was made subservient, and I cannot undo that. Nonetheless, Eagle, I am sorry. I swore to you that you would regret your decision. I was wrong. I regret mine. Your strength may have given me guidance"

"Is the weapon truly unbeatable in combat?" asked Sonja.

"It will be soon. Every passing day it grows stronger. If it can draw together all its troops then we will be overwhelmed. That was why I joined the Blue Moon and Yellow Comet navies as my last act in command. I had to stop you leaving one way or another. It was the only tactic that I could think of. Our only chance is to strike now while Flak and Lash's army is in disarray"

"Flak!" exclaimed Adder, who was now standing just outside the door, terror in his voice, "What will happen to Flak! He'll be fine, won't he?"

"Maelstrom is the ultimate weapon. Flak will already be dead, unless he had the sense to flee, which I doubt very much"

Adder sank to his knees in silence as Sonja asked,

"What about Lash?"

"I am not sure. She has the sense to try and escape, but maybe he is too powerful to be resisted. She may have been indispensable to me, but I doubt that Maelstrom will be able to see this. If Flak and Lash were able to join forces then they might have been able to escape, but Maelstrom will have stripped them of any authority over Black Hole"

"So," mused Sonja, "we must strike now. What is he capable of?"

"His CO Power is Shadowstorm. It isn't as powerful as I wanted to make it. Since you kept Adder out of my grasp, I lacked his DNA sequence. On account of this, the power of Shadowstorm had to be toned down somewhat, and it will take a large amount of time to charge anyway. We must defeat him before he can use his power. You must understand that Shadowstorm will be as fierce as the Black Hole Vortex was"

"If that is true, why did you bother retrieving the White Sun?" asked Sonja.

"Maelstrom was not meant to be released this early. The White Sun was meant to defeat your armies, and then I planned to seize all of you for study, so that I could give Maelstrom Grit's skill with indirect weaponry or Olaf's ability to work in the snow. The Maelstrom that we will fight is not what Sturm envisaged, but it is all that I could achieve in difficult circumstances"

"So, we still have advantages over him…" muttered Sonja.

"Only tiny ones" replied Hawke, "He has the firepower to crush you"

"We can still win with good tactics. However strong a tank is, it is powerless against Eagle's bombers. Any indirect combat unit is rendered useless by Grit's superior range. However strong he is, my father will fight back with comparable force"

"If he is driven by nothing except a desire to crush White Sun then we should not fear invasion" said Nell, "I will send for all our reserves immediately"

"If this man is so powerful" said Eagle, "yet so driven by destruction and lacking in mental capabilities, surely he will attack us recklessly"

"No" replied Hawke, "or Flak would be the perfect weapon. He possesses immensely powerful mental abilities, but only in the field of battle. In terms of tactical planning, he is faster, more intelligent and more perceptive than even you Sonja. Attacking now may be the best option, but it is still incredibly risky. Victory may be impossible"

"Nonetheless, we have no choice. Our only option is a single final battle. Now, we must go and prepare our troops. Hawke, is there anything we can do for you?"

"Do not concern yourselves. I heal quickly"

"Excellent. In that case, we should go and make preparations. Could I speak with the Green Earth COs now. You know your own country better than anyone, and we must choose a good location to set up our lines"

Shortly afterwards, the COs left the room, and even Hawke got out of his bed for a brief stroll. As the COs planned to depart on the very next day, since almost every unit was fully fuelled and armed already, they were unaware that they were being watched.

Two figures stood on a nearby mountainside, both using powerful binoculars. It was true that the taller figure with bulging arms had failed to take the lens caps off, but the smaller girl was the only one that really wanted them anyway. Flak, throwing the binoculars aside said,

"The bad men still have Adder!"

"Yes," replied Lash, "and now it seems that Hawke has been brainwashed as well. Those pests are stealing all my playmates"

"I miss Adder! We gotta get back Adder and Hawke from the bad men! Let's go smash them!"

"We have no army Flak"

"Then we need bombers! They bomb!"

"Very true, Flak. But I think that we have better options. Consider what the alliance wants"

"To smash!"

"No Flak, I don't think that they want to smash. Remember, we talked about this. Not everybody wants to smash"

"What then?"

"They'll be setting off to play with Hawke's new toy. They'll ask the Green Earth COs where to line up their men, and I think I know just where they'll pick. Don't you worry Flak. This could work out very well for us. I don't like those nasty people, and we'll have our revenge on them yet"

Saying nothing else, Lash and Flak climbed back into the single APC that they had escaped in, and departed northwards…


	23. Facing Demons

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Hey all, welcome back to the final battle of Hawke's Vengeance, and a battle that'll take some time to complete! Thanks to Keeperofthescarf for his support in his story, and I accordingly do urge anyone out there to go read chapter 2 of Competing with Perfection (it rocks). We've got a bit of a golden time for AW at the moment, I think. I personally just love Assassination is the key (but where's the second chapter, damn it!) and the scarf maintainer's first ever story (dear lord, how good is he going to be after some practice!?).

Anyway, read, enjoy, and, as always, REVIEW! All the best, Jon Foulds

The blazing sun burned almost directly overhead, and the weather was perfect, apart from the odd cloud on the horizon. It was one day after Hawke had arrived, and Black Hole's fallen lord had amazed everyone by healing in such a short period of time. Hawke seemed mildly bemused by everyone's astonishment, revealing that the immense concentration of Black Wave energy, though inwardly harmful, allowed him to heal and regain his strength for now.

The Green Earth COs had been consulted about the best position to resist a superior force, and they had not hesitated for long. The only way that they could resist the initial charge would be to draw up their men somewhere fairly narrow, so that they could avoid being encircled, and so to draw up their troops deep enough to avoid any breaking through. Sonja had spotted that fact immediately.

Jess, the most able CO in terms of terrain, mainly as Eagle and Drake rarely had to think about the terrain of the land, knew the perfect place. There was a mountain range in the middle of Green Earth, and a long open pasture ran down the centre of the mountainous region. It was wide enough to fight, but narrow enough to stop the enemy driving through.

The confined space would make it difficult for Maelstrom's ground forces to break the alliance's lines. Meanwhile, the significant area behind the front gave the alliance's indirect units plenty of room, allowing them to be close enough to the battle to be useful. A few cities and, crucially, two airstrips were in the area, a short way behind the site chosen by Jess. The alliance could easily refuel its airforce. Maelstrom had no such resource at his disposal. Sooner or later, his bombers and fighters would have no choice but to retreat or fall out of the sky.

The alliance was already in position. As they had insisted, Max and Jess had drawn up their medium tanks across the very centre of the lines. This was where the fighting would be most fierce. If Maelstrom was truly tactically perfect then he would throw the bulk of his units at the very centre of the front, as Sonja concluded, mainly because it was exactly what she would have done. If Maelstrom could break their lines then he could encircle their troops. Sonja had done everything she could, but she didn't know what would happen. She couldn't gauge Maelstrom's strength. Hawke himself wasn't exactly sure. All he knew was that every hostile unit in Green Earth would be coming at them.

A sinister silence pervaded the camp. The troops were all drawn up. There was nothing more that anybody could do except wait. Yellow Comet reconnoitring forces had spotted a huge Black Hole force approaching yesterday morning. This was public knowledge now. Any soldier could look northwards and see their lines. They had arrived some minutes ago.

Then they had stopped. They had just stopped. The alliance had no choice but to wait. To leave their defensive position was suicide. Sonja approached Hawke for an explanation. Hawke replied that Maelstrom was building, as became obvious, a full Black Hole HQ. It was all part of his mental programme, apparently. He felt the need to establish a base of operations. It was standard procedure for any army. To build one from scratch was rather unusual, however.

Yet, the following morning, in which the army looked out over the motionless units, the Black Hole army, building with its foreseeable speed, had thrown up an imposing structure of black stone in a single day. The infantry had swarmed over the rising mass like ants over their nest, working with an inhuman efficiency.

Sonja's first question had been whether Maelstrom would be unable to join battle if the HQ could be destroyed. Hawke had replied simply that Maelstrom would want revenge, one of the few emotions he could feel. It hadn't been the answer that Sonja had been looking for. Hawke had said that as soon as the base of operations was complete, Maelstrom would attack. The HQ was fearfully close to completion.

The number of air units was incredible. They were hanging back for now in order to land and refuel on open ground. There seemed to be a black smear across the horizon. Despite the fact that a huge force had already arrived, new dust clouds kept appearing in the distance, betraying an unimaginable ground force.

And yet all their problems faded away to nothing when they lifted their eyes to the heavens. Nobody had thought anything of it when it had appeared on the horizon yesterday. It was so small.

Then it had grown. As the Black Hole army approached, the endless columns of tanks and armoured cars turned out to be the lesser problem. Now it was overhead.

Shadowstorm.

The swirling black mass churned above them, like a rough black sea caught in a vicious storm. Black tendrils of shadow lashed out viciously, almost warning of what was to come, as the storm crackled overheard with sparks of purple flame. The sun had risen that morning, visible to the east, but had faded away behind the raging storm, no light able to penetrate the abyss of sheer darkness. Shadowstorm grew every hour, expanding out in every direction. Hawke had asked for more time before he made any comment, and had only reassured Yellow Comet's young strategist that the energy could not be released yet.

Sonja, keeping her concerns to herself, looked out over the troops, all illuminated by powerful floodlights and torches. Orange Star's earnest warrior Max and fiery Jess guarded the frontlines. Heroic Eagle, prince of the skies, stood in his bomber's cockpit far away from the lines, waiting for the order to take off from the airfield with the entire airforce of all four countries. Noble Kanbei guarded the alliance's right flank, and the calm Sami watched over the left flank. Andy, ever optimistic, and Drake, always composed, were at the back with the reserves, just as they had been while facing the White Sun.

Blue Moon controlled the indirect fire. Nominally led by Olaf, Grit laid out his units across the lines, supported by Colin's overwhelming numbers. At the very rear of the battle was the unified command centre. Nell, the experienced Commander, Sonja, the cunning strategist, and Sensei, wisest of the COs, stood before a large map, surrounded by radios and computer screens. Just behind the command centre, their roles hardly clearly defined, stood the two Black Hole defectors, talking to each other openly. Adder seemed the more agitated,

"This is not a wise plan. As Black Hole's strategist, I strongly suggest that you don't do this"

Hawke gazed back at him, giving nothing away,

"To be defeated is to lose everything. I am not prepared to accept that"

"He was made to be more powerful. You made him with your own genetic code. He possesses every ability that you do, except better. You aren't at your strongest anyway. You cannot win this battle"

"Facing Maelstrom is the only way"

"You'll die"

"You want me to survive?"

"Don't get me wrong. I have every intention of being lord one day. But you are our best hope of killing him when you've recovered"

"He will get powerful faster than I can. Time is against us"

"Don't do this"

"Adder, tell me what you have in mind"

"I once told you that I follow the strong. Maybe you misunderstood. I don't follow the strong because I want to be strong. I follow the strong because they can protect me. I'd defect back to Black Hole if I could, obviously, but that doesn't seem possible. The most sensible option is to try to survive. We should leave. Let Maelstrom destroy the alliance for us. In time, he'll die. We can't join him or fight him, so let's allow him to do the dirty work for us and then take over when he dies. We'll win in the end"

"That is what I would have done in the past. But things have changed now. I no longer want world domination for the sake of it. If we hide, then what's left won't be worth surviving for"

"He is stronger. That's a fact"

"He has more strength. But he wants to kill and destroy and survive. Nothing more. Maybe I have something that he doesn't"

"…Good luck, Hawke"

"What will you do?"

"I guess I'm stuck here, so you better win"

With that, Adder and Hawke walked forwards to the command centre. As Sonja approached from the raised metal platform, Hawke called out to her,

"I think I know what I have to do"

"Go on" replied the young girl.

"Shadowstorm is made of Black Wave energy. Maelstrom may have created it, but I can exert limited influence over it. I can prevent him from releasing this energy for a short time"

"I suppose that's a good thing"

"I am going to take on Maelstrom in a single duel"

"Can you win?"

"Probably not, but it may buy you some time. Every second that I can stall him, his troops will not be under his instruction. You must use the time that I give you well"

"How will you find him?"

"His mental programme is predictable. He will proceed to the highest vantage point for the battle. That's one point of the HQ. He intends to stand on the very summit to observe the battle, give orders and, finally, let loose the fury of Shadowstorm on us as soon as possible. I can try to get there. I may be able to penetrate those lines by myself"

"What will happen if Maelstrom releases Shadowstorm's energy?"

"You don't need to worry about that"

"Why?"

"Because if he does, then you will all die instantaneously"

"If he can just do that, why will he attack with the army at all?"

"Because his programme instructs him to. He has no concept of overkill. He will simply charge with everything he has until you are wholly defeated"

"Hawke… Thank you"

"I am doing nothing except providing you with an insignificant opportunity to win this battle. Ensure that you use it"

"What will you do now?"

"I will depart immediately. I will try and penetrate his HQ, and find him as soon as possible. If he launches his attack before I can find him, try to hold out against him. I am sure that, if anyone is capable of this, it is you, Sonja"

Without waiting for the reply, Hawke left, pacing rapidly through the ranks of alliance troops, leaving Adder in the control centre. The pale skinned CO looked over the gloomy landscape. The HQ rose high into the air, an imposing black shadow against the dim sky, lit up by flashes of purple fire from above, illuminating the stone towers and thick walls. The structure was deserted now. It was almost completed. Maybe the troops at the frontlines imagined it, but many thought that they could see a the outline of a man at the summit of the HQ's highest tower.

Sonja looked out over the troops again. There was total silence. Then, suddenly, a radio crackled to life. After a short pause, a rough voice boomed out of the speakers,

"Hey! Orange Star dogs! I told you I'd crush you before this was over! There's no way you can stop me now!"

Nell ran over to the transceiver and pulled it off its ledge,

"Flak! What are you doing?"

"Yak yak yak, you talk too much! I'm gonna crush you!"

The radio went dead before Nell could reply again. Nell turned to Sonja,

"What could he mean? Could he have an army somewhere?"

"Hawke said that Maelstrom would have stripped him of all authority. What can he possibly be planning?" replied Sonja.

"We need to talk to somebody who knows the area. Where's Jess?"

"She always stays with the men. We can't contact her now"

"Drake has no reason to know about the local terrain inland. We can contact Eagle at the airstrip"

Nell pressed a few buttons and a confident voice replied,

"This better be important"

"Eagle," said Sonja, "Flak's somewhere nearby, and he seems convinced of his own ability to inflict damage on us. What could he mean?"

"…No! Impossible!"

"Eagle, what is it?"

"We had a cluster of silos set up nearby during the second invasion. The mountains made it hard to move in this area during Hawke's offensive. We constructed them to fire on the enemy without having to deploy troops in the region"

"Why didn't you tell us this before? We could have occupied the sites and used them!"

"They were decommissioned after we beat back Hawke in the great sea battle. We never had a chance to get them working again, and they should still be disabled. There's no way that Flak could have got them working so fast!"

"Then Lash is with him. She could have got past the security measures"

"Our troops are drawn up in tight formations. If those missiles hit us then there's no way we can resist Maelstrom's charge!"

"Eagle, there's nothing our ground troops can do about it. We have no choice but to divert the airforce against Flak. Prepare the bombers for immediate launch"

"Perhaps" came a sneering voice, "I can provide a more appropriate solution"

"What do you mean, Adder?" asked Sonja suspiciously.

"Let me go and take care of it. Just give me a T-copter"

"We can't let him go!" yelled Eagle over the radio.

"Cretin! What do you think I'm going to do? I follow the strong, and Flak has an army of one psychotic girl and a limited number of missile silos"

"You just want to join up with them!"

"Hawke's on your side now, so what harm can it do?"

"It's a trick!"

"If Flak sees any force coming towards him then he'll unleash hell in that general direction. If you have that many troops to spare, go ahead. The only people that Flak won't fire on are me and Hawke"

"Adder just plans to…"

Adder reached forwards and flicked the radio off, cutting off Eagle's rant. A sly smirk spread across his face,

"I wish I could do that more often. Come now Sonja, you know that it's the only way…"

"If you do join up with them, then we'll send the airforce after you"

"Whatever you say, little girl. Can I have my T-copter now?"

"… Go to my T-copter. I'll let them know that you're coming"

Adder strolled off confidently, a devious smile on his face, his thoughts a mystery. Nell looked after him,

"Was that the best plan?"

Sonja paused for a moment,

"We have no other option. We have to trust Adder"

Within a few minutes, a Yellow Comet T-copter rose up from the rear of the army and flew to the east, where Eagle confirmed the location of the silos to Sonja.

At the front line, Hawke looked out over the dark pastures to the Black Hole army that stood before them. Behind it were the menacing black towers. Maelstrom's airforce was closer now. The roar of the engines spread through the air. The tanks that had stood still for a day now seemed to have crept forwards. The frontline of Black Hole now appeared to be covered by a line of infantry, the forerunners of Maelstrom's forces.

Then a scream.

From the summit of the Black Hole HQ, not far below the churning dark storm, a scream was raised. The cry was a male voice, immensely loud, full of rage, pain and torment. It cut through the still air like a knife.

As the figure fell silent, the Black Hole lines began to move. The mass of infantry shook the ground as it charged, followed swiftly by tanks and every unit that existed in great numbers. Hawke looked out from between two tanks and quietly muttered,

"This is the end"

Saying no more, he charged forwards, out into the open, leaving the alliance's army behind him, running to meet his destiny…


	24. Reunions

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Hey y'all, sorry about the slow updates, but I did warn you! I'm sure that you'll be just thrilled to know that I'm having a great time here in Oxford, and discovering the joys of joining a thousand societies for their free bar events! Anyway, now I've settled in a bit, I'll probably write a little bit quicker, as it is relaxing to sit down and do this in an evening sometimes.

Anyway, I'm sure you all want to know what's going to happen, so I won't keep you back anymore! Therefore, read, enjoy and REVIEW!!!

All the best, Jon Foulds

Hawke charged against the largest army that had ever existed under the dark purple sky. Maelstrom was almost ready to release the energy. Hawke could sense it, and he struggled and focussed on trying to hold back the Black Wave energy that churned over him. It was too much. He knew that. Hawke had never tried to control this much energy before, and his influence wasn't as strong as Maelstrom's. He had to hurry. Maelstrom had to be stopped.

Hawke saw the advancing line of infantry, all in identical uniforms and helmets. They were almost inhuman. And yet they were the army that he had created. The thought of it was horrible, but it had been the work of his lord. They were almost in range now.

As Hawke rushed forwards, he smiled. He was going to die anyway. It didn't really matter. Two black shimmering spheres appeared in his hands as he held his palms out to either side of him.

The first few soldiers fired at him, bullets tearing through the air. The barrage of lead hit him in the chest. He grimaced from the pain as the wounds healed instantly with a hiss of black energy.

Hawke threw his hands forwards and sent a mighty surge of Black Wave at Maelstrom's lines. It knocked back twenty soldiers, throwing them through the air onto their backs, but many more streamed forwards and took their place, filling the gap in the lines.

Hawke leapt forwards and swung his arms around, knocking out another soldier with a swift blow to the chin. As gunfire rained down on him futilely, his only worry was that they might overwhelm him with sheer weight of numbers, slowing him down until it was too late. Charging a large ball of swirling shadow in his hands, he struck the ground, sending out immense shock waves, which gave him some space to move.

Hawke could see that the soldiers weren't stopping to kill him. They just fired and moved on. They were clearly ordered to engage the alliance. They just saw Hawke as an inconvenience to remove if possible. Obviously, none of them showed any respect or loyalty to the man that had created and commanded them from their creation until a few days ago.

As Black Hole's fallen lord smashed through the ranks and charged ever onwards towards the imposing black citadel, a Yellow Comet T-copter, containing only Adder and a pilot, soared to the east. As they approached the co-ordinates given by Eagle, a rough voice boomed over the helicopter's radio,

"Hey! Orange Star dogs! I said not to come! Lash got some old anti-air cannons working, so you still can't stop me! I'm gonna smash you good! There's no way you can get past those cannons before we make the big missile go!"

"Flak! Hold your fire! It's Adder! It's me!"

"No! You're not Adder! Lash said that the bad men would try and trick me! You gotta prove that you're Adder!"

"Your teddy bear is called Mr Smash"

"Adder! You got away from the bad men! I knew that you'd use that brain that you got to think of a plan!"

"That is correct Flak. We all use the gifts we have. I have intelligence beyond that of the conventional human, and you hit things very hard, except when you miss. I'm coming to see you now"

"Then we smash the bad men together, just like we used to?"

"Yes Flak. Nothing beats nostalgia over mass slaughter and, markedly, smashing. Any chance you could postpone delivering the coup de grâce until we could savour the final moment of triumph in each other's company?"

"What?"

"Don't touch any buttons until I arrive. Then we can enjoy it together"

"Sorry, Adder. Lash said not to stop. She said that the bad men would send bombers! They bomb! That's bad"

"And they used to say that I was the strategist of Black Hole. All the time I was apparently dependent on the unforeseen auspices of the adroit Flak"

"What?"

"I'll be there as soon as possible. Just don't do anything that requires thought. You might hurt yourself"

Adder sighed as he turned off the radio. Flak wouldn't be convinced by words. Not least as he didn't understand any of them that possessed more than six letters. Adder bit his pale lip. He didn't actually have a plan yet, and the sensation was bizarre. Adder always had a plan. It was his raison d'être. Lacking a plot left him feeling empty.

Right now he had few options. Flak wasn't going to be convinced by words. He refused to take part in naval missions because he was scared of sailing off the edge of the world. Adder or Lash had to check that there wasn't a monster under his bed at least once a week. Flak wouldn't be convinced. Flak had the strength advantage. Adder wouldn't win a fight. Equally, Adder didn't want to fight. Adder needed a plan fast. He could already see the silo's aboveground complex approaching quickly.

Adder sighed. Although being an excellent liar, he couldn't hide the truth from himself. Flak couldn't be restrained. He was too strong for someone of Adder's intellectual temperament. If Flak couldn't be persuaded, then he would have to die. Adder looked down. Held tightly in his hand was the silver revolver that he had possessed since his encounter with Hawke under the Black Hole Vortex.

Meanwhile, on the frontlines of the main confrontation, the battle raged. The alliance had torn through the first line of infantry, and the fallen corpses, spread far across the field under the seething purple sky, made a grim landscape.

The first wave of tanks had charged forwards at great speed, charging at the alliance while incessantly firing. They didn't stop to fire. The tanks threw themselves forwards at the lines, crashing into the vanguard of the alliance rather than stopping.

Grit's indirect combat units allowed the lines to hold, always picking off the most threatening units of Maelstrom's army, never failing to hit the target when it mattered. Eagle also eliminated the enemy where it was most necessary, destroying scores of units in a single attack run. For now, Eagle had full aerial superiority, as Maelstrom had chosen not to send in his own airforce yet.

Maelstrom was just as strong as Hawke had warned. Every time the alliance exposed a single artillery or anti-air unit, an enemy tank would strike it with overwhelming strength, crushing it into the ground. The Black Hole army pushed on with limitless tenacity. The alliance held them at bay, but suffered huge losses. Maelstrom lost far more units, but he had enough reserves to make what seemed like reckless tactics overwhelming enough to secure victory.

Every time the alliance faltered for a second, Maelstrom would have a squadron of elite troops waiting to take advantage. As the COs on the frontlines struggled to hold out, Sonja was powerless to defend the alliance, unable to keep up with Maelstrom's constant attacks.

As Max and Jess were driven back by the onrush of enemies, only Eagle protected the lines from collapsing completely, charging his bombers straight over the lines of Black Hole, throwing Maelstrom's troops in confusion, and stopping their advance. And yet whenever Eagle crushed an advancing column of their adversaries, more units would flood forwards to take their place, undaunted by their task, unflinching in the knowledge of what might happen to them; an unthinking army under the command of a callous murderer.

Eagle's airforce, though the alliance's greatest asset, was slowly beginning to weaken. The roar of the soaring airforce was interspersed with deafening explosions, as B-copters were knocked out of the sky by unerring anti-aircraft cannons and bombers, already crippled by barrages of fire, were knocked out of the air by fierce strikes from missile emplacements.

Eagle's own bomber circled round to take out a new squadron of Neotanks that were charging at Sami's weakened lines. He had to protect them all. Suddenly the Yellow Comet bomber in front of them juddered violently as a trail of anti-air fire slammed into its flank, almost driving the huge plane onto its side. One of the fuel bays exploded, scattering debris throughout the skies. Eagle's own bomber dived out of the way, itself only just avoiding the same bombardment.

As his own craft was forced to retreat, Eagle looked out from the cockpit. Despite everything he did, he couldn't defend his allies. The enemy surged through the fire that Eagle dropped on them like a tidal wave gushing over a futile dam. He looked out over the Black Hole lines. The enemy was still drawn up in deep lines far from the raging battle. They couldn't win this fight. Black Hole couldn't be defeated. The battle on the ground was only still going on because of the airforce, and that was in pretty ragged shape now. If Maelstrom ordered his own bombers forwards, then there would be no method of resistance.

As the alliance struggled in vain against Maelstrom's troops, Adder's T-copter circled around the silo complex that he had found out that Flak was located in. A number of fairly small buildings surrounded a huge circular concrete expanse. Adder looked around nervously, muttering,

"This is probably the worst plan that I have ever come up with"

Adder paused and thought about that for a moment. Actually, it was a fairly good plan, but it was also the first plan that he had ever produced that put him personally at risk, which thus made without question the worst plan he had ever thought up.

Suddenly the wide expanse of grey began to part into two sections, which slowly pulled away from each other. The gap revealed a huge missile and launch platform that had formerly been hidden underground, now illuminated by only the flashing red light from within, as even here Shadowstorm blocked out the sun. Adder looked out over the plateau. More missiles were slowly emerging from the ground in the distance. Adder spoke to his pilot,

"Descend through the opening. And try to avoid the giant explosive missile"

As the T-copter lurched sharply downwards, spiralling around the rising missile, Adder grabbed the doorway to steady himself. This was the only way. If Lash was there then Adder couldn't walk in through the front door. The only way that Adder could get to Flak in time was by means of a rather less conventional entry point. The helicopter dropped rapidly through the huge metal storage area and halted with a violent jolt next to a thin walkway.

Adder leapt through into the rear of the T-copter and pulled at the thick metal door. It didn't budge. Adder glared malevolently at the door that dared to oppose him and clicked his fingers until the pilot came and opened the door for him. Adder stepped down cautiously and called back into the pilot,

"Stay here. Don't move. And if that missile starts to launch, don't bother trying to get out of the way"

Adder began to run towards a nearby stairwell. He had seen plans of these bases before. Lash had made detailed diagrams of every Green Earth structure after the second invasion. This had allowed her to override the security and take over so quickly and silently. He knew where the control room was from stealthily appropriating copies of Lash's documents before he fell from Hawke's favour.

He looked around as he raced up the stairs. The huge missile and its launch platform were approaching the open air. As soon as they reached the top of their climb then this whole area would be isolated and used as an exhaust bay for the missile's launch. And that would be potentially hazardous to Adder's health.

As he sprinted up the stone staircases, a strange noise seemed to fill the hanger, just audible over the roar of the equipment that was moving the missile into place. It sounded like… laughter…?

Lash.

Shortly afterwards, the sickeningly familiar giggling voice of Black Hole's wunderkind penetrated the base, coming from every speaker as Adder sprinted away from the exhaust bay towards the control room,

"Oh little Adder! Everything you've done! You stopped me getting even with those nasty people that stole my ship! You led those annoying little COs straight to my base and blew up my Heavy Tank! You helped Eagle destroy the White Sun! Do you know how much time I put into those things! Every time I finished with a new toy, you were right there to wreck it! Well now you get to have a traitor's death! Flak knows not to let you in! I just told him everything! He knows all about you now, even if it is in simplified language! When it launches, the very missile that destroys the alliance will turn you into a little human hamburger! Toodles!"

Lash fell silent as Adder sprinted onwards. What could Lash have done? What did Flak know? The roar was getting louder. The missile was almost in position…

There it was! Adder saw the command centre in front of him. The blast doors had been sealed, ready for the launch. Thick reinforced windows were set into the concrete walls on either side of the door. Adder reached the door and began banging it weakly with his fists. He rushed to the windows and struck them as well. He looked through them.

Flak was there. The room was fairly small. It was filled with computer equipment that all seemed to be flashing. At the very back of the room, on a slightly raised area, beneath a huge screen that showed the state of the missile, was Flak, standing next to a single command console.

He had seen Adder. But he wasn't reacting. He just stared at the pale skinned CO as he waved frantically through the window. His face was completely cold to Adder's presence. His mouth was slightly open, and he seemed to be breathing heavily. He looked like a child. He looked like he was in pain. Adder ran over to the door and pulled a small internal phone unit from the wall as he rushed back to the window. He began to yell slightly too quickly,

"Flak! It's me! It's Adder! You've got to let me in! Flak, you have to let me in now! Open the door!"

Flak, his hand trembling, reached for the microphone that lay next to him. He turned away from the window, as if he couldn't bare to look at Adder while he spoke,

"Lash told me everything, Adder. She said that you were just an Orange Star dog now, just like all the other dogs…"

"Flak! That was a lie! She was lying to you!"

"She showed me pictures. You helped that Orange Star girl break into our base. You helped those Orange Star dogs when they wanted to kill me. You joined them. You left me behind, Adder. Do you remember what you said to me when Hawke made himself our boss?"

"I said…" said Adder slowly, remembering it all clearly and painfully. Flak had been detested by Hawke after the second invasion. Adder had heard that Hawke had rebuked Flak just before the volcano attack on Jess. Flak's prospects hadn't been looking promising. But Adder had always liked Flak. He respected his integrity and good intentions. When Hawke had basically dismissed Flak after his failure in Orange Star, Adder had summoned him to help in Yellow Comet's invasion. Afterwards, Adder had stood up for Flak in front of Hawke. He had possibly saved his life. That was when he had gone to speak to Flak,

"I said," he repeated, "that you could always trust me, and that I'd always try to help you when I could"

"You left me behind! You went and helped those alliance dogs! You were never there when I needed your help!"

"Flak, I'm sorry. You have to listen to me. You don't know the full story. Did Lash tell you why you're here?"

"She said that Hawke's new toy was about to smash you, so we had to help"

"Flak, Hawke's toy is called Maelstrom. He is a CO, just like you and me. He is a bad man. Do you understand?"

"Shut up! Hawke's toy is part of Black Hole! We smash the bad men!"

Suddenly, a calm female voice, not Lash's, boomed out of the speakers,

"Missile in position. Awaiting final clearance"

Flak looked down at the console next to him. A button was now flashing red. His hand moved towards it. Adder yelled through the system,

"Flak! Don't!"

Flak looked up, tears slipping down his cheeks,

"I've gotta get the bad men, Adder. I've… gotta crush those dogs"

"Flak, if you push that button, then I'll die"

"You…" said Flak, his finger right over the button now, "You're a bad man too. You've got to be smashed, just like the rest"

"Flak! I may be a bad man, but I'm still your comrade, and your friend. I'm the same person you've known all these years. Just let me in"

Flak paused, trying to think. After a short pause, he looked up at Adder's pleading face. He reached forwards and pressed a button firmly downwards.

To Adder's relief, the doors slid open a fraction. He stepped in quickly, as they sealed themselves behind him. Flak, shaking all over, looked up at him,

"Now you're safe. Now I can make the big missile go!"

"Flak!" yelled Adder, as Flak returned to the console, "For goodness sake, listen to me carefully"

Flak looked confused. He had saved his friend, and now they could crush the enemy together. Adder's hand stayed firmly in his pocket, tightly grasping the revolver. Flak may have been basically invincible while in one of his 'why think when you can fight' moods, but this would bring him down now. Adder prayed that he could persuade Flak. The alternative wasn't worth thinking about. Adder began to speak slowly,

"Flak. Who are you?"

Flak thought about this for a minute,

"I'm Flak. I'm a Black Hole CO"

"What does that really mean?"

"What?"

"What does it mean? Why does your allegiance matter?"

"Cos I gotta crush those dogs"

"Why?"

"Cos… Cos Sturm told me to"

"Lord Sturm is dead"

"But then Hawke sent me to crush 'em too"

"Lord Hawke is desperately trying to stop the Black Hole army now"

"…But they're all dogs!"

"Why?"

"They just are!"

"Flak. You know me. We've known each other as long as we've been alive. Don't think of what country I'm from. Am I a bad man? Am I a dog?"

"No… You're Adder"

"But I'm no longer a part of Black Hole, and neither is Hawke"

"I… I don't understand"

"Flak. I'm your friend. You must understand that Black Hole means nothing to either of us now. We have both been driven from it"

"I'm a dog? But I'm not a dog…"

"No Flak, and maybe some of the Orange Star COs aren't dogs either. Well, maybe they are, but Drake seems reasonable enough at times"

"So I shouldn't crush them?"

"No Flak, and if you don't join with them, then we could all die. You and me, and everyone else too"

"Adder… I dunno"

"Flak. As your friend, I beg you. Please trust me. I'm only trying to help you"

Flak was silent. Lash orders had been clear. If Adder got in, kill him immediately. Flak had to make his choice.

He leapt forwards towards Adder, who recoiled in terror. In a second, he flung himself at him, arms outstretched.

Adder sighed as Flak wept into his shoulder, his huge arms wrapped tightly around Adder's frame. Adder stroked his friend's back, quietly muttering,

"It's ok, old friend, it's ok, we're going to be… squeezing too hard! Squeezing too hard!"

Flak apologised as he released Adder from his grip,

"So, what do we do now?"

"First things first, do you know how to abort the missile launch?"

"Yeah sure" said Flak, walking over to the console and pulling a lever down. The screen went blank shortly afterwards, and the woman's reassuring voice spoke over the speakers,

"Launch has been aborted. Have a nice day"

"Excellent. Now where's Lash?"

"I dunno. She said she had to do something"

"Flak, you have to go to the alliance and join them"

"They need my help?"

"Those weak amateurs could probably use someone with a bit of firepower"

"I need to smash Black Hole?"

"Just trust me Flak, now go"

"I trust you Adder. What about you?"

"I have to find Lash. There's no telling what that reckless little psychopath could do…"

"Ok Adder. Good luck"

"Take care of yourself, Flak. I'll be there as soon as possible"

With these words and a final embrace, the two COs separated. Flak went to Adder's T-copter, which left the way that it had entered. Adder meanwhile ran along the metal walkways inside the silo, desperately looking for Lash. She would be somewhere sensible and safe; a security centre or something similar.

In fact, mere minutes after Flak and Adder had abandoned the central command room, there was a flicker of movement. A small section of the wall pulled apart with a quiet mechanical rumble, and Lash strolled out, smiling with a glint of insanity in her eyes.

She had been exactly right, as befitted a genius. Flak was never going to be able to resist Adder's words, and dismissing him earlier or being present when Adder approached could have been dangerous to her. But now he was gone. Adder's little pieces of baby logic weren't going to work on her.

The girl walked over to a switch by the door and pulled it sharply downwards with a laugh. The blast doors sealed her in, and she wasn't going to be stupid enough to let that meddling snake inside again. Lash then skipped over to the main console. It wouldn't take her to get these things working again.

She flicked a switch and screen flicked back on with a crackle. She flicked another switch. The diagram of the missile disappeared, and was replaced by an aerial view of the battlefield. A trace of doubt flickered over Lash's brow for a second,

"So that's how it is now… yes, that should work well. Yes, it must be done"

Saying nothing else, Lash began to realign the missiles with a frenzied speed…

Hawke flew up the stairs of the Black Hole HQ, sprinting as fast as he could. It hadn't been too hard to get here. He could sense Maelstrom's power. The Shadowstorm was ready. It could fall any second. He had distract Maelstrom for long enough. Hawke ran over a few last things in his mind. He could take on Maelstrom. He had attacked Sturm to preserve his own life previously, and he could do the same thing now. And he could take on Maelstrom. He programmed the forsaken creature. He knew its every move. It wasn't enough, but it might buy Sonja some time.

Hawke looked up as he approached the top floor; the door had been sealed. He hurled a mighty pulse of Black Wave energy, shattering the whole wall. He ran up a short flight of stairs and out onto the immense flat roof.

Maelstrom stood at the far side of the roof. He calmly turned around. Hawke looked at the creature opposite him. He had watched him grow and develop for years, yet he still loathed the animal.

It looked so calm and so peaceable. He wore purely functional clothes, made to aid him in battle. Hawke had designed them himself. They were all jet black and fitted him perfectly, as they neither hindered his movement nor were too loose. He also wore a long formal robe over this attire, which he now casually allowed to slip to the ground behind him.

His face was disturbing. He was in theory handsome. He had the same short jagged blonde hair that Deinos and, of course, Sturm himself had once possessed. His face was unblemished. And yet he barely seemed human. His eyes were cold and unfeeling. His mouth was frozen into an emotionless grimace. His skin seemed too pale. He didn't blink, such a pointless function having been removed long ago. He spoke to Hawke in a voice that carried no sense of intellect, but cut through the air like a sword,

"Maelstrom has come. All who oppose me will be destroyed"

He then drew his sword from the sheath on his back. Hawke knew the blade instantly. The hilt was still carried the burn from the White Sun's attack. It was Sturm's sword. Maelstrom began to walk calmly towards Hawke.

Hawke's hands flew inside his coat and emerged a second later holding a pair of handguns, which he fired swiftly at Maelstrom, each bullet aimed perfectly. Maelstrom made no attempt to evade them, but let them pass through his chest, each wound healing even faster than even Hawke could. Hawke kept firing as Maelstrom broke into a run, his sword held out in front of him.

Just as Maelstrom was upon him, sword raised and ready to swing down, Hawke threw his handguns away, and drew his own sword with lightning speed, and met the fierce blow, knocking its power away. It had been even stronger than Hawke had expected, and he took a step backwards to steady himself, but already another attack swept towards him from the side. This time Hawke struck back with a upward sweep, pushing Maelstrom's sword into the air.

With Maelstrom off balance for a moment, Hawke pulled back his left fist, but Maelstrom was too fast, and struck him with a powerful left hook before he even saw it coming, knocking Hawke backwards across the roof. He came to a halt and struggled to rise. Maelstrom remained where he had been, looking at Hawke's fallen body. He spoke again,

"All who oppose will be destroyed"

It was not a threat or an act of mockery or contempt. It was a fact.

Hawke got to his feet and picked up his own sword. He had to be faster. Maelstrom began walking towards him again. This was it, Hawke thought to himself, this was the final battle.

And he couldn't win it.


	25. Hawke's Vengeance

__

Hey y'all, so then, this is it, eh? The end of the final battle? Well, not quite. As always, they'll be more. There'll be another chapter after this to tie up loose ends and generally finish everything off. Along with that, I'll post a little something else; DVD extras! Yep, DVD extras to a piece of fan fiction! It's probably a first! Who loves ya, baby? Foulds does, of course! It has been an honour to get to write all this out, so do review. If you have ever read any of Hawke's Vengeance at all, please just review with a few words, as I'd just like to know how many people were interested…

Anyway, read, enjoy, and REVIEW.

All the best, Jon Foulds, your friendly neighbourhood Spiderman.

Beneath the ever descending swirling purple clouds, the air was full with the roar of battle. Artillery shells churned up the ground into muddy craters. Bullets soared across the battlefield in their thousands, each one capable of ending a life forever. The flashes of purple fire reflected in the mire of dirt and blood, lighting up the corpse littered pasture. Every man fired blindly onwards, robbed of their wits by the raging battle, robbed of their minds by the slaughter around them, robbed of their compassion by grim necessity. Only the last screams of the dying interrupted the thunderous explosive crashes.

On the very front lines, crouched down inside a filthy hole in the ground, alongside her own men, lay Sami, firing out at Black Hole's never ending advance. The girl ducked away as bullets penetrated the ground around her with a series of dull thuds. She was on her own now.

Minutes earlier she had seen Eagle's airforce try to give her some covering fire, but they had been beaten back by the strength of the anti aircraft cannons. Sami, effortlessly slotting a new clip into her rifle, crawled forwards and fired outwards, knocking two identical infantrymen to the ground, before quickly darting back into cover.

She closed her eyes and tried not to focus on the pain. Her clothes were black with dirt and blood. A hastily improvised bandage was tied tightly around her left knee, which was stretched out behind her, having been hit by a piece of shrapnel early on. Her left eye was swollen with bruising, as she had been knocked to the floor by the force of the impact from a stray Artillery round.

Only two soldiers were left with her now. One of these was more badly injured than she was, and couldn't use his rifle due to a bullet through the right shoulder. The others were dead. Two had been hit and killed instantly. The other hadn't been able to cope.

Sami couldn't forget his face, which was frozen on her mind. He had been so young. Many young men joined the army with a bunch of friends with such great enthusiasm and patriotism, just looking for an adventure. They never wanted any of this. The reality of war hit men hard. Sami knew that nobody really understood what it meant to take a human life until they actually did it, and then they got ordered to do it again until they didn't have anyone else to kill. Sami was well aware that some men could do it, but some men couldn't. And this man couldn't.

He had stared at Sami just before he had done it. His eyes were full of horror and fear as he felt the cold metal against the roof of his mouth. Everything he had ever known counted for nothing. Sami had stared back, pleading with him. He couldn't hear her over the battle. It wouldn't have mattered if he could. He had made his choice. He pulled the trigger. Sami had turned away as she saw his finger move. She couldn't help him.

The thoughts flew from her mind as she heard an incoming rocket attack. She covered her face as it slammed into the ground just outside the crater and chunks of hard earth painfully collided with her back. She glanced forwards, and pulled herself back, breathing heavily. A full strength unit of infantry was approaching quickly. There was no way that she could take on five soldiers with only one able-bodied ally.

Sami sighed. This was it. You couldn't be a CO without a few risks. She was ready to take out as many of them as she could. She pulled herself to the top of the crater and stopped. She looked out. The Black Hole infantry had stopped moving. They were standing there, and looking around. A pained smile appeared on Sami's face. Hawke must have reached Maelstrom. Without his instruction, the troops would be fighting blind. This was the moment that the alliance had been waiting for.

As two of the Black Hole soldiers began to retreat, another one ran off to the side and only two ran forwards out of formation, Sami yelled back over the field,

"This is it! The lines are broken! Take them down!"

Within a moment, a swarm of infantry rose up from their concealed hiding places as if they had grown out of the ground itself, and they all charged in unison, cutting down the few infantry that proceeded, and chasing back the rest. All throughout Maelstrom's army, all order was lost, and only their superiority in numbers made them dangerous.

Hawke and Maelstrom faced each other silently. Both of their swords glinted in the flashing purple light as the dark tendrils of fire lashed out very close by to their heads. The Shadowstorm was ready. Maelstrom, given just a minute without interruption or a few seconds without Hawke holding it back, could release his power. Hawke's face gave nothing away. He desperately evaluated his options. Maelstrom was, just like Hawke himself, made powerful by Black Wave energy, but too much Black Wave energy was deadly. Hawke wasn't sure what he could do. And there was only one way to find out.

Hawke slipped his own sword back into his black coat and raised his palm. His hand twitched and his whole arm shook as a quivering ball of darkness formed in his hand, and exploded outwards, the force knocking Hawke himself backwards. The surge of energy tore through the air, crackling with power. Maelstrom, an imposing black figure, whose cold features were illuminated by the flashing storm, didn't appear to notice. He waved his hand in front of him, and Hawke's attack appeared to fade away into the wind, as if it had been physically brushed aside, as if the attack that had brought Green Earth to the brink of defeat alone carried no force behind it at all.

Maelstrom then moved to strike Hawke back. Raising both his hands, within seconds they were both completely covered by pulsing black and purple fire. Maelstrom didn't seem tired by his effort, while Hawke was still trying to rise from the exertion of merely launching his own strike.

With a casual swing of his wrist, Maelstrom released the first formidable ball of flames at Hawke. Barely seeing it coming, it took all of Hawke's focus just to stop it and hold it still in front of him, as Maelstrom willed it onwards. Hawke was pushed back, barely staying on his feet as the dark fire inched closer and closer to his face. With no small part of his remaining strength, Hawke was just able to bat it away, just in time to see the second attack, even more powerful than the first, racing towards him.

Hawke threw himself to the ground, but he couldn't move fast enough. The ball smashed into his chest and exploded in a sea of blazing purple, burning his skin, blinding him for the moment, its raw power driving him backwards, his body indiscriminately twisting through the air like a child's discarded doll. His side struck the concrete roof first with a sickening crunch, and he rolled to a stop, covered in dirt, his face smeared with black blood and scratched, weak and barely conscious.

Hawke pushed himself onto his knees, but couldn't get up further. His whole body ached and stung. The last fall had broken several of his ribs. He raised his head from the floor as the swirling blackness in front of his eyes faded away to reveal Maelstrom's figure, suddenly visible as purple lightning crackled around the combatants, walking towards him again, calm and unstoppable, the pitiless sword in his hand.

As Hawke struggled against the pain and forced himself to his feet, swaying unsteadily while the remaining Black Wave energy in his body restored a fraction of his power, he glanced backwards. He had been knocked back into one of the corners of the HQ's roof by Maelstrom's last blow. He was cornered. Maelstrom was coming to finish him off and dispose of the corpse. Hawke, feeling his abilities returning to him slowly, drew his sword with a trembling hand, his gloves covering his blood stained fingers.

Then Maelstrom stopped. Hawke realised what was happening a second too late. As Hawke threw himself forwards with every final jot of strength and speed in his battered body, Maelstrom drew a small communication device from his pocket and said clearly,

"Airforce go"

Hawke, leapt towards his foe, sword swinging towards him, a fierce blow, strong enough to crush any opponent, just as the mighty Kanbei had fallen before him, but Maelstrom easily stepped away from the reckless attack, and delivered a swift kick to Hawke's chest, who roared in pain as the blow struck exactly at the precise spot where he was most vulnerable after landing awkwardly.

Hawke, pulling himself to his feet once more, was silent. Things had just got a lot worse. There was no way that the alliance could resist the airforce, with or without Maelstrom's personal instruction. Feeling nothing but pain and anger, ready to suffer and die, possessing nothing but his sword and a desire for vengeance, Hawke raised his weapon and prepared to defend himself.

Sonja, having realised instantly the cause of the sudden shift in their success, was seizing control of the battle, directing units to where they were needed, desperately trying to get their units in range of Maelstrom's HQ. If they could fire everything they had on it, then Maelstrom would surely be destroyed. The girl may not have been certain, but it was her best bet.

Kanbei, Sami, Jess, Max and Flak, who had recently arrived to help, were all on the frontlines, and they were all advancing. However, the assault was also slowing down. The alliance may have had the advantage, but they were too heavily outnumbered, even if their foe did lack a Commanding Officer.

Then Sonja saw it. The black mass on the horizon, the previously inactive airforce, began to soar towards them, the unified roar of bombers and fighters at attack speed clear even over the battle's roar. Sonja breathed deeply. It had been inevitable. She picked up a radio transmitter at once,

"Eagle, can you hold off the airforce?"

"We don't have enough fighters! Their fighters are protecting the heavy bombing crafts! The counter fire would tear us apart before we could touch a bomber!"

Sonja didn't reply. If Eagle led the charge, it would give the front line a shot at the bombers, but then without the airforce, they were doomed. If the frontlines took out the fighters, then Eagle might have a chance, but the frontlines would be bombed into the ground. Sonja was silent. You could be the greatest tactician in the world, she thought to herself, but you can't win an impossible battle…

Jess, covered with the grime of battle, was crouched behind the wreckage of an Orange Star Medium tank that had been blasted onto its side, flames licking the remaining armour. Max was crouched beside her, cradling a broken arm in a makeshift sling. Their offensive had ground to a halt. They were winning easily now, but they were so far outnumbered that just firing into the hoards of Maelstrom's army was dangerous.

The roar of the airforce. Unprecedented numbers of bombers, the greatest display of firepower that had ever existed, raced towards the already crippled lines. Max and Jess both knew it instantly, and accepted the fact silently. Max turned to his Green Earth counterpart, bellowing over the clamour,

"They're sending bombers against my anti-airs? That Maelstrom's insane. He made a mistake picking a fight with me!"

"Not as ridiculous as taking on my units in a fair fight"

"Oh yeah? Well let's just see who can do more damage, little lady!"

"Anything to make it interesting?"

"Loser has to volunteer to command a squadron of Battleships"

Both smiled warmly at the other. There was no point in getting miserable before the fight had even begun. A weak army may flee when it is losing, but the alliance was strong, and, for strong men at least, the greatest advantage of the utterly defeated is that they, having no chance of survival, will fight until they have spent every last ounce of strength in their weary bodies. And so did Max and Jess prepare to put up the last resistance.

Without warning, just as the bombers were ready to attack the alliance's lines, a huge shadow, leaving a blinding trail behind it, tore through the swirling Shadowstorm and sped to the ground, and then another followed, and then another!

Max and Jess, utterly forgetting that they were exposed, gazed in wide eyed awe at the unexpected spectacle. Jess gasped, not moving her eyes off the rapidly falling shapes,

"Lash…" she breathed quietly, "But those are…"

The huge missiles struck the ground, shaking the battlefield and all of Green Earth as they all smashed into the earth at once. Jess and Max looked out, their mouths hanging open. The missiles had just hit Black Hole's troops.

Chaos reigned in front of the frozen alliance army. At first impact, blinding flashes had spread through the landscape, and the army shielded its eyes, blinded by the light and heat, as if they had walked out of a cave into the midday sun. The roar of the burning clouds of fire filled their ears. Bombers were smashed out of the sky by the force of the missiles hitting in these numbers, their blast covering the whole Black Hole line, crushing hundreds of ground units, foolishly drawn up so close together.

Max and Jess snapped out of their trace when they realised what was happening. As the light and heat and noise died down again, the silo strikes, for all their power, had not destroyed the army completely, obviously, and more units were charging. Already, the COs saw with dismay, more bombers that had been outside the blast were coming, and there were still enough to destroy the whole army.

But then, as if a divine providence defended the alliance and its fragile army, the first of the new wave of bombers shuddered, and a plume of flames shot from the wings as it fell forwards and burst into a sea of flames, scattering blazing debris through the darkened skies. Just as this happened, the other bombers began to fall, their pilots finding that they had no control, the bombers exploding suddenly for no obvious reason, just as the fighters and B-copters did around them. The skies were filled with burning oil and shards of metal, like a huge display of fireworks.

Max turned to Jess with a hint of frustration in his voice,

"What? I don't get to attack anything? What a waste of time!"

"What happened?" replied Jess, ignoring Max completely…

Close to the command centre, a Black Hole T-copter touched down and two figures rushed out of it,

"Ohhhhhh! That nasty mean man makes me so cross! Hawke put me in charge of the airforce! Those were my toys! He didn't even ask if he could play with them! Well if I can't play with my planes, then nobody can!" screamed Lash, quite clearly in a frustrated huff.

"For the first time ever," replied Adder calmly, "I am actually glad that you have such a fixation with those damn self-destruct mechanisms"

"He stole all my toys! I don't have any toys now! The alliance may be horrible, but they only broke a few things! Not as many as that nasty man!"

"I just want to know by what exact definition you are able to be counted as a genius"

"Adder's jealous! Adder's jealous!" sang Lash, skipping around her fellow CO.

"I am not jealous. And may I ask when did you decide to switch allegiances?"

"When I saw that big map. When I saw that he took my planes away, I realigned the missiles, and…"

"Yes, I got that part. Remember, you let me in…"

"Only after you…"

"Shut up"

"Oh, but it was so funny!"

"Shut up"

"Just you wait until I tell everyone! The mighty Adder, in order to avoid being turned into a human hamburger, pretended to be a dog!"

"Shut. Up"

"Oh, don't be like that. It was cute!"

"Just as long as you're taking this perfectly seriously. So you changed allegiances in a few seconds?"

"It was no big deal. I am a genius, you know"

Lash and Adder walked over to the alliance's command centre, where Nell and Sonja, quickly taking advantage of the situation, were ordering further troop advances. Sonja glanced up and approached the two COs,

"Lash, I take it you did this?"

"Yep"

"… Thank you"

"Anything to get even with that nasty man. You need a hand with the attack. You could probably use someone with a brain"

"Don't push it"

"So, it's fifty points for every Neotank we take down, thirty for every medium tank and ten for everyone else, ok?"

Sonja sighed, and failed to give a response, but let Lash sit at one of the terminals, her eyes lighting up as she smiled insanely, like she playing a computer game without any real consequences. Sonja smiled when she was sure Lash wasn't watching. Irrespective of this, Sonja had to admit that she was good.

Sonja glanced at one of the screens. The recon units were reporting the new numbers. The battle was now far more evenly matched, and the alliance did have a slim chance of winning the battle. This assessment was, however, completely ignoring the huge Shadowstorm that now seemed to be even closer.

Hawke and Maelstrom exchanged merciless blows, each sword attack powerful enough to crush any other man, with such speed that nobody else would have even seen the strike approaching them before they were dead.

Hawke, sweating heavily, partially bent over from the pain that his broken ribs were causing him, his nose now bleeding heavily from another casual punch that Maelstrom had thrown at him, desperately blocked and parried the endless barrage of lightning quick blows that rained down on him, completely unable to contemplate attacking in return.

Hawke constantly took unsteady steps backwards, using all his strength and speed to push away the blows that aimed to kill him, each time barely avoiding the sharp blade, each time struggling to recover in time for the next blow, and stepping back again. But as Hawke stepped back again, he felt thin air beneath his feet. He was at the edge of the roof, and it was a long drop.

Maelstrom, as if he had been waiting for this moment, suddenly increased the strength of his assault, lashing out with a series of downward sweeps. Hawke had no choice but to raise his sword in defence, pushed back by each blow that struck his weapon. Another blow knocked him to his knees as he looked up at the pitiless Maelstrom with fear in his eyes.

Suddenly there came a upward slice, knocking Hawke sword out to his side, and Hawke, though he saw it coming, had neither the speed nor strength to move his hand. Maelstrom's sword tore through the skin of Hawke's arm, and pulled upwards, slicing open his flesh from the elbow to the wrist.

Hawke screamed in pain as the black blood that Eagle had once seen him offer to Sturm's body sprayed out from his flailing arm, and his sword flew from his hand, which now flung limply as his side, completely useless.

As his sword fell from the building out of sight, Hawke cautiously got to his feet. Maelstrom was standing there, sword raised, only inches from his neck in fact, but motionless. He spoke again,

"All who oppose me will be destroyed"

Hawke realised. Maelstrom was waiting for him to jump. Hawke looked down. It was over. To think, killed by his own weapon.

Something clicked in Hawke's mind.

Killed by one's own weapon…

Hawke smiled weakly, as he so rarely did. He had control over the Shadowstorm. And he had been holding it back. Hawke closed his eyes as he focussed…

He couldn't win.

But a draw wasn't bad.

Then he jumped, and fell.

Sonja looked out over the battlefield with her mouth gaping open. The Shadowstorm was moving towards Maelstrom's HQ. What almost looked like a tornado shot down and smashed into the roof, clearly demolishing the summit of the building at once. More followed as the whirlpool of shadows expanded, and formed a great swirling mass of darkness around the HQ, a force so powerful that anything it touched just ceased to exist.

The COs all stared out over the battlefield, frozen for a moment, forgetting that they were losing the battle, as daylight returned to the field, and the Shadowstorm converged on this one spot, its purple flames, dark lightning and churning shadows incessantly crushing the Black Hole HQ and the land around it.

As the final dregs of shadow emptied into the burning mass, followed by the black tornado itself, the Shadowstorm formed itself into a perfect sphere, jet black, and seemingly motionless. After what seemed like an eternity, with an immeasurable and deafening wave of noise, the sphere exploded upwards, and dissipated into the heavens.

It was over. Maelstrom was dead. Shadowstorm was gone. Hawke had used Maelstrom's own CO power against him.

Sonja looked around, and called out in a panic,

"Where's Lash? And Adder?"

She ran to the entrance to the command centre; their T-copter was gone as well. Sonja looked through her binoculars and gasped, terror covering her face.

At the font lines of the silent battlefield, as the Black Hole army froze without a Commanding Officer, a Black Hole T-copter touched down, and Lash and Adder emerged. Flak was already there, and had rushed back to Black Hole as soon as Maelstrom was dead. A Black Hole infantryman ran up to them,

"Lord Adder, the troops are in position"

"…Lord… Adder…"

"The bombers are ready to make an attack run over the front lines, and the Medium tank divisions have a clean shot at the enemy Artillery"

Adder smiled. If they could hit the indirect fire units then this battle was won.

"My lord," continued the infantryman, "What are your orders?"

"I…"

Adder's eyes were drawn away suddenly as he rushed over to an approaching armoured car. He recognised the passenger instantly. Hawke.

Adder ran over to him, quickly followed by Lash and Flak. His face was too pale, and, though he was just alive, his breathing was very weak. His infamous black coat was covered in grime, and torn horribly. He had only one glove on, revealing the hideous scarring and lesions in his hands, and a deep bleeding gash that covered most of his right arm. His legs were both at sickening angles, as he had landed on his feet, breaking both his legs instantly. The skin on his face appeared to be burnt. He had avoided the brunt of the Shadowstorm by jumping, but the fall had hurt him, and the explosion of Black Wave had almost killed him.

Adder stared at him in horror. What he had done… What he had said…

The infantryman ran over to them,

"My lord, please, we must have our orders"

"Order a full retreat. I want every unit to return to the northern coast. Tell the navy to prepare for a full extraction by sea. This war is over"

"Yes my lord"

Adder sniffed as he stared at the ground. He noticed that Flak's leg was bleeding. Wrapping his arm around his shoulder, Adder helped his friend onwards and into the T-copter. Adder then went to retrieve Hawke's barely living form, and laid him out carefully in the back of the helicopter as well.

As the T-copter took off, Adder stared out through the window. The Black Hole units were retreating already. The alliance too was pulling back its troops. Maelstrom's HQ had simply ceased to exist, as had the merciless creature itself.

It was over. The war had been, Adder now realised, won.


	26. Curtain Call

Howdy y'all, sorry for the slow updates, but I've been doing this work stuff (you'd be surprised at firstly how much there is to say about evolution of the divinities in the Iliad between Book 1 and 24 and secondly how I actually enjoyed that essay and thirdly how I am completely serious). Anyway, not much to say except welcome to The End. Everything else is dealt with in the final chapter of DVD extras. Anyway, for the final time in Hawke's Vengeance's short 6 month life, read, enjoy and REVIEW.

Signing off, working hard, preparing to continue Soaring,

All the best, Jon Foulds

The victory party had been a muted affair. The COs were well aware that they had survived but many had not. That wasn't really victory. You didn't get real victories in war. Sami slouched in a corner, keeping quiet. She didn't feel like talking. Since the battle she had showered and changed, and washed away the dirt and blood from her body, but it was all still there. She could still hear the battle. The screams. The explosions. Death everywhere. And there was nothing she could do. Battles won and battles lost were nothing more than death.

She looked up, shaking her head. Guilt didn't help the dead. Black Hole was gone. That alone made it a victory. She peered around, trying to see Eagle, but he wasn't there.

In a hospital nearby, Sonja had been with a group of doctors for some time, watching over Hawke's decrepit body. He hadn't regained consciousness yet. She had asked Eagle to come to them, and he now sat in a dingy room on a plastic chair, looking around at the cracked green plaster on the walls. Sonja quietly opened the door and let herself in, slipping down in a seat next to Eagle. After a pause in which they failed to look at each other, glancing nervously around, Sonja began,

"I have been able to observe Hawke's status now. The records that you were able to obtain from his base did not tell the whole story. A few experts were able to help me with their professional opinions. The source of Hawke's power is Black Wave, as you know, and you are also aware that it is his weakness, as its strength has been causing the degradation of his body. It seems that his life force has almost entirely failed him. Black Wave can help him no more. He needs a fresh source of life force or he will die"

"What does he need?"

"A blood transfusion would provide the necessary renewal of his strength. The problem is what blood type to give to a man whose blood appears to be an unidentified black substance. Then a doctor happened to notice that the structure of his blood is remarkably similar to you yourself, albeit with some minor variations at the genetic level. The match is almost perfect. Eagle, how can this be?"

"You know my father?"

"Of course. He was a great CO. He inspired a generation of military leaders… I… I think my father may have known him. I met him once when I was very young"

"Do you know how he died?"

"I… No, I don't"

"Nobody does. Not even Hawke. Only Sturm knows for certain, and now he can't reveal anything. The matter may have something to do with a boy called Deinos as well, but there are also almost no records of his life. Whatever happened, Hawke has a strong genetic link to my father"

Sonja, pausing a moment to take the information in, spoke in a very quiet voice,

"A blood transfusion from you could save his life. Without it, he will fall into a coma and then die. Of that the doctors are certain. Eagle, you must think carefully about this decision"

"Why?"

"Hawke has done a great deal of damage to our countries in two invasions. Maelstrom is dead, Hawke is incapacitated and the remaining Black Hole COs are in our hands. Without leadership, Black Hole would fall apart. This is our chance to pacify the Black Hole nation forever. However, it is your decision"

"Hawke has fulfilled his obligations which we cannot begin to understand. He has only just freed himself from Sturm's slavery, as have all of them. Hawke, Adder, Lash and Flak all had the chance to kill us all at some point in the battle, and they all chose not to. Enough blood has been spilled for one day. I must help him"

Eagle stood up and walked out without hesitation.

Two days later, the sun shone in through the small window of a fairly small white room. The room quite clearly smelt of a hospital; a faint scent of decay and death barely noticeable over the strong smell of disinfectant. Two single beds were set up in a small ward, and both men lay back, weakened by their ordeals. Eagle and Hawke lay in the adjacent beds, both in uncharacteristic light blue hospital gowns. Hawke's emotionless voice boomed through the small area,

"I hate hospital food"

"I hate hospitals" replied Eagle sourly

"Want to play eye-spy again?"

"We are in a featureless room"

A nurse's distant voice announced visiting time, and within seconds, the room was filled with flurry of charging people. Eagle looked over to his right and laughed as he saw Hawke's disgusted face as he was assaulted by Flak and Lash leaping at him and hugging him. Adder stood nearby, trying to keep as much dignity as possible.

He then turned around to see Jess strolling in through the door. She sat down next to him in silence and was the first to speak,

"How you doing, flyboy?"

"I think they may have taken slightly too much blood, but other than that, absolutely fine, you obtuse waste of space"

The pair smiled warmly at each other as Eagle continued,

"How did my decision go down with the others?"

"Kanbei did the whole not-raising-a-sword-against-an-unarmed-foe thing, so the Yellow Comet lot have accepted it. Orange Star understand as well. Olaf was a little uppity, but Grit talked him round"

The conversation was interrupted by Flak leaping at Eagle,

"You saved Hawke! You're a good man! You're not a dog!"

"Thanks" replied Eagle, trying to sound as appreciative as possible. As Eagle pushed Flak off, the Green Earth COs looked up as Sami arrived and hovered in the doorway. Jess stood up and called over her shoulder,

"I'll leave you alone. See you later flyboy"

Sami walked over to Eagle's side, but kept standing,

"You did the right thing Eagle. Thank you… for everything. For holding off the clone of Andy. For beating back Sturm. For saving me from Adder in Green Earth. For…"

"That's enough. If everyone thanked me everything incredible I've ever done, I'd never get any work done"

"Well, thanks anyway"

Sami then, fidgeting slightly, bent down hurriedly, kissed Eagle on the forehead and practically ran out of the room, leaving a dumbstruck Eagle staring at the doorway. He shortly became aware of Lash giggling at him.

"Romantic" she muttered, before glancing at Hawke with a mischievous glint in her eye. Hawke, wide eyed in terror for the first time ever, declared simply,

"No!"

A week later, the COs stood together in an airfield as the Black Hole COs prepared to depart for home in a T-copter. Hawke walked forwards and shook Eagle's hand, both men wearing more characteristic clothing,

"My troops have disassembled the factories and bases. I apologise for the… evidence of our incursion that we cannot mend"

"Time will heal our soil, as it will heal your nation"

"I hope so as well"

Hawke then turned and gathered his fellow COs, who fell into line behind him. Their conversation echoed around the airstrip,

"Why aren't we walking into the sunset? That would be much more dramatic!" whined Adder.

"We're going north" replied Hawke, "Think about it"

"What weapons do I get to make when we get home?" asked Lash, skipping around Hawke.

"We need to talk" answered Black Hole's lord.

"What about the bad men?" said Flak, who was firmly keeping an arm around Adder's shoulder. Adder turned to his friend and replied,

"Flak, don't worry about the bad man. He's gone now, for good this time"

Flak nodded dumbly as he climbed into the T-copter, followed by Lash and Adder. Hawke climbed in last and, just before he shut the door and the T-copter departed, he called out to the COs,

"Chance is a fickle thing. You never know when it will come your way. Perhaps this is the end. Farewell"

* * *

Eagle surprised everyone by not entering into a relationship with Sami. It was generally understood that the prince of the skies flew alone, and that was his path in life.

The COs did all they could to restore their nations. In time, the battle ravaged soil hid the traces of Sturm's final assault.

Eagle never found out what happened to his father. He strongly suspected that Sensei and Kanbei both knew more than they would say, but he did not pursue the matter. His father was dead, and no knowledge could change that.

Hawke's first act was to bury Sturm's body. Only Hawke and the other Black Hole COs attended the service. No words were said. Nobody visited the tomb again. Time wiped his name from the stone, which the wind and rain wore down and cracked. Time could not so easily erase the memory of his acts, but they too would be forgotten in time.

Eagle and Hawke visited each other's nation often, as Hawke required further blood transfusions. Eagle was willing to oblige, and Green Earth and Black Hole became two nations joined by life, not death.

* * *

They enslave an innocent people and call it empire.

They replace a tyrant with a more powerful one and call it liberation.

They ignore every diplomatic channel and call it the only solution.

They hide away their reasoning and call it evidence.

They make a barren wasteland and call it peace.

What cruel fates tied us to our human nature, predisposed to idle tongues, bigoted minds, and swift hands? What ill fortune makes us put forwards our left hand in friendship, while our right rests on the hilt of a sword? What power ordained that we should have peace wafting from our lips into the blustering breezes, soon to be forgotten, while war is engrained upon our minds and hearts?

Peace is a fragile thing. Be mindful. Be vigilant. Be brave.

The End


	27. DVD Extras!

Hey y'all, settle down. I wanna take this nice and slow. This is the last ever author note of Hawke's Vengeance. True, Soaring to close to the Sun will continue, but I am feeling surprisingly emotional that this, my first ever epic fic, and the longest thing I've ever written, is finally coming to a close after over twenty-five chapters!

The most important thing is that I must give a big 'thank you' to quite a few parties.

Firstly, to my dear Jen, who inspired me to write this in the first place, and then provided unlimited support in characterisation, making tea and not moaning when I spent whole evenings writing this instead of paying attention to her.

Secondly to Genocideking Archfiend, who has been infinitely helpful for his thorough reviews and constructive criticism. There was a point when I considered not continuing (about chapter 9 or 10), but his support at that point made me persevere. Thank you, dear friend.

Also, and no less, to Victory March for being the only person to review several of the early chapters, thus keeping me going. Thanks to Keeperofthescarf for more recently reviewing and supporting Hawke's Vengeance. Thanks also to Master of the Phoenix (if you're still out there!) and Dash 142 for reviews.

Now, time for the main body of the chapter. Read if you want. It is an interview with the director and producer of Hawke's Vengeance… ME! It also includes some deleted scenes and original footage. Anyway, for the very last time sniff, read, enjoy and, REVIEW. I'd love to here if anyone has any favourite moments, scenes, characters or one-liners. After all, knowing that will let me write more scenes like it in the future.

All I would ask is that everyone here at least give Soaring a chance. Please read and review honestly. I'd love to hear about it, as it will be my main (and only!) project for a little while.

All the best, Jon Foulds.

It was a cloudy day in Oxford. It was the sort of the day that made people roll over and go back to sleep instead of getting up. It drizzled throughout the morning, as if the skies themselves were lamenting the departure of Hawke's Vengeance with their tears.

In a quiet back street, hidden behind a tall and sturdy wall and a thick black gate, stood an expansive building, which strongly resembled a church. It was in fact the main hall of the Oxford Union, but today it was being used for a different purpose.

Orange Star infantrymen, lacking much to do until the inevitable fourth invasion, sat in the ornately decorated wooden seats, staring at the expansive stage at the front of the hall. Blue Moon troops lined the balconies that flanked the room.

Two comfortable armchairs were set up on the stage, and both were empty. As the cameras that lined the front of the stage were switched on, some officials called for quiet and the hall's gentle murmuring subsided. Eagle strolled out onto the stage and received his gentle applause. After revelling in the attention for a moment, he raised his hand for silence and spoke to the cameras,

"Good afternoon, people of Wars World. We have with us today a very special guest, who has kindly agreed to appear and give up his precious time to speak to you all. I refer, of course, to myself. However, if, for some reason, you have any reason to want anybody else to talk, then we do also have the Author himself. Please welcome Jon Foulds!"

As riotous applause started, a slightly bemused and scared looking student walked out onto the stage and meekly waved, overwhelmed by the lights and noise. Jon was not exactly a dashing figure, despite being the creator of the known universe. He most closely resembled Andy, but was far scruffier. His hair, unkempt and sticking outwards in wild dark brown curls, appeared not to have been cut, washed or brushed for a significant amount of time. He appeared permanently bewildered by the world in general. He wore a T-shirt with a small stain on the front. He either hadn't noticed it, or hadn't figured out how to use the confusing washing machines of St John's College yet. He also wore smart beige trousers and a pair of socks that almost matched, but not quite.

Guided by Eagle, Jon sat down and took a sip of water from a glass that had kindly been left for him. He breathed deeply. Just remember, he thought to himself, if it gets too stressful, then it is within your power to wipe out the universe. As the applause abated, Eagle himself sat down and turned to Jon,

"Good afternoon, Jon. How are you feeling?"

"Um, fine, I guess…"

Eagle sighed. Colin could have given a better interview than this. Hiding his frustration, he continued,

"So, Hawke's Vengeance is finally over. How do you feel about that?"

"It's a real shame actually. In many ways, I'm quite sad. However, in a way, I am relieved that I was able to finish it at all. It's taken a long time to write and now I can start something new. It's liberating really"

"By something new, what do you mean?"

"Well, I have far too many plans to actually write. I have quite a bit of work to do, you know. I have all sorts of rough plans on my laptop, but most are too vague to actually produce"

"What sort of plans?"

"Well, inspired by Keeperofthescarf, I would like to do something a little more light-hearted. I'd love to try my hand at a romance and humour fic. I loved Don't Worry Green Earth, and I'd like to write something like that. I think it would be relaxing. There's something else as well, but I'll keep that to myself for now"

"You once mentioned a trilogy. Is that still on the cards?"

"In a way. As you're aware, Hawke's Vengeance is a fully self-contained story. Soaring too close to the Sun is a deeper look at the past, more than a huge expansion of any ideas laid out in Hawke's Vengeance. There won't be any shocking revelations that will completely change the meaning of Hawke's Vengeance. Well, maybe one…"

"But what about the third part?"

"Ah. Now that is probably my next fic. A lot of work has already gone into that project. Speeches have been drafted. Plans have been made. I concede, how to end it is killing me. I really don't know. Just hope I'm in a good mood when I write the final chapter"

Eagle gulped as Jon grinned at him with an insane smile,

"Am I in this fic?"

"Well of course. A big part as well"

"Well lucky me. So you're working on that next?"

"Actually, I may take a short break from Advance Wars. I'll keep writing Soaring, if maybe quite slowly. The thing is, I have a Star Wars fic I really want to write, so look out for it!"

"No advertising other fandoms!"

"Sorry"

"So, you say that the three are a trilogy in a way. What do you mean?"

"Well, they aren't strongly connected by plot. Just as Soaring isn't really about the White Sun, neither is the new story. It probably won't be mentioned in fact. The way they are connected is thematic"

"How so?"

"I wrote the prequel and sequel as an examination of the mentality of war. Hawke's Vengeance is very much about war itself. The struggles in war. The loss. The death. The endless futility. Soaring however isn't really about war. It is about what leads to war. Emotions. People"

"Does that mean that there won't be many battle scenes in Soaring?"

"Sadly, not as many, which is a shame, as many reviewers liked Hawke's Vengeance during the battles. But I think that a deep study of characters is more interesting as watching them shooting at each other"

"So where does the new story fit into this?"

"My new fic is, slightly predictably, a story of what happens after a war. It's about what is left behind. Can war, even a victorious one, ever have good consequences?"

"Interesting"

"Indeed. I'm quite proud of it"

"So how do you feel about how the three stories interrelate?"

"Hawke's Vengeance is the lightest story of the trilogy. There are some dark bits, like Hawke and Sturm and the soldier's suicide, but the characters were rather protected by a magic bubble the whole time. Everyone survived. Everyone got redeemed. Everyone got a happy ending in some way. There was the occasional dark bit, but there were more instances of humour"

"And Soaring?"

"That is a darker story. There's not as much humour, and, as Deinos has clearly shown, death is a possibility for everyone. That's the joy of original characters. You all know that Sensei has to survive, but who can say what will happen to the scientist, Phoenix, Deinos, Nestor and any original characters. Some might die. Some might get different endings"

"The characters themselves are darker, aren't they?"

"That's right. I've been very careful not to include a single hero in Soaring. I remember Genocideking once supporting Deinos against the scientist. But they're both bad guys! Both of them want to exploit Phoenix. I have a collection of villains and antiheroes. But no heroes"

"And how does your new fic fit into this?"

"I'm willing to say that it will be the darkest one yet. And, more importantly, the characters' magic bubble will be gone. Characters can and will die. As for which ones, wait and see…"

"Of course, Hawke's Vengeance wasn't entirely light-hearted. Most recently, the soldier's suicide caused a bit of controversy"

"I had to do that. I just hate the happy-go-lucky mentality of some of the COs. Once more, I have a problem with Andy. In AW2 he gets the lab plans in an attack in which men died and his reaction is to organise a barbeque! After the final battle, hundreds of men have died, and he wants to party! I had to show that even though the alliance won, they didn't really win"

"So, getting back to Hawke's Vengeance, how did it all begin? What was in your mind at first?"

"It was the island assault that later evolved into the attack where Eagle had to bomb the depot with Drake and Jess inside it. Oddly, it wasn't an Advance Wars fic at that point. I originally envisaged it as a Star Wars fic, so it was filled with X-wings and TIEs. However, I've always got crossovers on the mind, so I had this image of Eagle's airforce dropping out of hyperspace and attacking the X-wings! Green Earth fighters against the rebel alliance. In time, the X-wings disappeared, and the imperial base became a Black Hole refuelling depot"

"What was the original plan for the fic? How did it evolve as it was written?"

"Some of the middle was made up after the original plan. The original script said that as soon as Adder arrived, they went and took on the White Sun. Rescuing Jess happened during that battle. However, I wanted more time to develop Hawke's character, so I diverted the action into the five chapter section at Hawke's base. Ironically, that bit ended up as one of my favourites, especially the bits with Lash"

"What about character evolution? Which characters picked up bigger roles as they went through?"

"Adder wasn't originally going to have a big part, but as I wrote I realised that he had great comic potential. I paired him up with Eagle at every available opportunity. Those scenes just wrote themselves. And then there were the scenes between Flak and Adder. I enjoyed writing their interaction as well. I think that their dysfunctional friendship is so sweet"

"So Adder's role grew. Why?"

"Because Adder had protection. Firstly, people seemed to like the Adder bits, but more importantly, my dear Jen became a devout Adder fan, and refused to let me leave him out of any sequence. I originally intended to kill him off, but in the end he gets his redemption and walks into the sunset. I wanted him around for the sequel, as I think he's a deep character. Cocky and arrogant, but inwardly deeply insecure. A high ranking leader with nothing more than superficial leadership qualities"

"What about the characters that got given smaller parts?"

"As you may have noticed, Andy barely features in the fic. I dislike him. He's an unrealistic character. Nobody that young and overexcited could ever lead an army. The soldiers in AW2's cut scenes had so much more sense than he did. So at the first available opportunity, I put him 'in charge of the reserves' and left him out completely"

"Who else?"

"Well, Jess got a small role as well, and not just because she was captured. The thing is that she is traditionally, Eagle, your antagonist. And you had an antagonist in this fic already. It's Hawke. Jess and you would argue at home, as happens in the early chapters, and then you'd argue with Hawke in battles. So I gave you two antagonists; Hawke and Adder. I felt you didn't need a third one, so Jess got relegated to the background. Basically, you're well aware that this is a mock Homeric epic, so anyone that didn't fit into that was demoted to comic relief, where they stayed. Just to confuse you, Sensei fills the role that Nestor did in the Iliad!"

"What about Sami?"

"Ah, now there's a question. I left that up in the air deliberately. This fic doesn't concern itself with romance. I might resolve all that later"

"I thought that I would end up with Sami early on" said Eagle sulkily.

"Indeed. The two scenes with you and Sami in the T-copter are certainly amongst my favourites, and I think that they are the most moving incidents in the fic. For those that have forgotten, I wrote a scene from Sami's perspective in chapter 4 and then again from Eagle's in chapter 7. I think that it is such a sad scene"

"There were certainly elements of romance in the story. What couples did you envision?"

"Well, I didn't think about it much. My first thought was that this was a war. People aren't thinking about romance. But then I realised that Advance Wars sets itself up perfectly for war romances. When it's so character driven and the chapters depend entirely on the COs being the focus, and not the armies, then romance is big part of that. The armies are commanded by a single CO with unlimited power over his troops, so of course personal relationships are going to matter!"

"Were any of those relationships in this story?"

"Aside from you and Sami, just the one couple"

"Who?"

"Flak and Adder"

"What?"

"Not like that"

"Good"

"Relationships don't have to be physical. Flak and Adder aren't in love, but they are a couple in as far as they care for each other dearly. They depend on each other, and care for each other more than for any other character. Certainly, I can't see either of them being in any other relationship"

"What about Sonja and Andy?"

"Oh don't you bloody start! I'm sorry, I love Competing with Perfection so much, it's such a great fic, but I dislike the pairing. It's not canon"

"So, who is the main character of this story?" said Eagle smugly, expecting his own name to be returned.

"Actually, it's Hawke"

"What?"

"True, not much of the story is from Hawke's point of view, but it's all about him. Every scene provides a new glimpse at him. I put a lot of thought into the scene in chapter 19, where he suffers. Like everyone else, he suffers. Hawke isn't the villain. Sturm is. I expand that in Soaring, although even there I try to give a deeper interpretation of Sturm. No, Hawke is the ultimate tragic victim of the story. The end irony being that Hawke's ultimate vengeance is in fact against Maelstrom, and so against Sturm"

"You don't really like bad guys, do you?"

"I don't like one dimensional bad guys who are evil for the sake of it. Therefore, all the Black Hole COs are allowed an excuse, if you like. Flak is being led astray, Lash is innocent as she was made that way, Adder cannot help himself but must obey Hawke, and Hawke has an undying obligation to Sturm. In this fic, Sturm is pretty evil, but Soaring makes him a victim in a way as well! Maelstrom was created as I needed an evil character who the hero had to kill, and who nobody could possibly feel any sympathy for. None of the Black Hole COs are that evil, and Hawke's cool"

"Who are your favourite characters?"

"You yourself, Eagle, of course. You were the hero of this piece. A flawed hero, but still a hero. Apart from that, I enjoyed writing Hawke's part. Flak was a fantastic character as well. In fact, I think the Black Hole COs are my favourites. They are all deep characters with a great potential for expanding their thoughts"

"I am not flawed. And your least favourites?"

"Andy. Andy, Andy and Andy. Also Max. The character is one-dimensional. Nell as well. I couldn't think of anything to do with her. But that will be corrected in the next fic, as both have big parts! Also, I'm unsure about Sonja. When she opened her mouth, you knew that there was a fairly dull plot device information dump coming up. Then again, I loved the bits early on when she has to confront the true cost of war, and the collar"

"So what were your favourite scenes?"

"Aside from Sonja looking at the dead soldier and Sami and your own conversation, as I've mentioned, there was the room with Mr Zebra nailed to the wall. Also, the fight scene between Kanbei and Hawke. And chapter ten, with the first meeting of Adder and the alliance. In fact, any Adder scene"

"Any scenes that you weren't happy with?"

"The rescue of Olaf and Grit by Colin. It was an attempt at a feel good morality tale in which the timid boy comes through for his friends, but it came off as unrealistic and out of character. The only positive was the comedy that arose from the interaction between Colin and Kanbei. Also, I think that the final battle could have been more dramatic. I left it largely ambiguous, because it didn't matter. The two key situations were Adder at the silos and Hawke taking on Maelstrom. The latter was the real final battle. I pondered for a long time how to end that fight. I think it worked well in the end. Maybe the ending was a little corny, but what can you do? It was a happy ending"

"What do you hope to have achieved through this fic?"

"I'd like to think that despite the typecast characters, I brought up some serious issues to think about. The existence of a purpose in life. The ethics of cloning. The idea of obsession and revenge. The superficial nature of alliances and nationality"

"Anything else to add?"

"Thank you for reading. And please go read Soaring! You'll like it!"

"Thank you, Jon"

With that, Jon stood up and returned to his room to continue typing on the laptop of creation…

* * *

And now, how about the outtakes?

scene 24, top of Maelstrom's HQ

With Maelstrom off balance for a moment, Hawke pulled back his left fist, but Maelstrom was too fast, and struck him with a powerful left hook before he even saw it coming, knocking Hawke backwards across the roof. He came to a halt and struggled to rise. Maelstrom remained where he had been, looking at Hawke's fallen body. He spoke again,

"All who oppose me will be… um, what's my line?"

"Idiot!" yelled Hawke, black wave crackling around his body.

scene 7, Orange Star HQ, Eagle has woken from his recurring nightmare

Eagle knew that he couldn't go on like this. The attack on the north may have been scheduled for the next day, but he was in no state to command, everyone had noticed that, and he couldn't continue until he knew the truth. He had to find out everything for certain.

With no more delay, he leapt out of bed. He burst through the door into the corridor outside and, still wearing green long-sleeved pyjamas alone, suddenly heard sniggering coming from backstage. The prince of the skies darted back into his room, yelling furiously,

"This is not funny! Could you just get Jess and Sami out of here!"

scene 8, Orange Star northern coast, Lash's Hydra is under attack

"That's impossible Sami. My men didn't spot any other fleet out there before and no new one could have arrived that fast"

"Eagle, I can see it with my own eyes! Someone is using Black Hole's own vessels against them!"

"That makes no sense. Anyway, no fleet is physically able to move so fast that it could sneak up without my units spotting it long ago… unless… Drake! Or, alternatively, it could easily be Adder! Also, since we don't have any units at sea, it could easily be anybody"

"Stick to the bloody script!" yelled Foulds

scene 18, Green Earth countryside, Max has taunted Flak into moving

And now Max, looking out over the battlefield, proud of what he had achieved, was suddenly filled with dread. Like a man who, confident in his strength, strolls assertively through the country, but steps on a snake, hidden by briars, and then recoils in terror as he sees what he has done, his face suddenly drained of blood, his self-belief replaced by horror, as he looks on the hissing serpent, eager for revenge. In this way did Max feel dread in his innermost heart, looking out at the inhuman Flak, roused by fury about Max's impulsive deed, charging at him, ready to kill.

Max turned and fled, signalling at the tanks to fire outwards at the approaching Black Hole assault, but he didn't have the speed to escape the swift footed Flak, aided by the unearthly powers given to him by Sturm. Flak charged up to Max and struck out haphazardly in his back, the slight tap knocking him to the ground, a heavy impact that Max struggled to rise from, as Flak triumphed over him, taunting him,

"Ha! Take that Ape-man! Oh…" said Flak in a distinctly British accent, "Sorry old chum, are you alright?"

"Don't worry, just twisted my ankle a little, it's fine" replied Max.

"Oh, I'll be more careful. Also, what's my motivation for this scene? And you stole that last simile straight from Homer!"

"Just stay in character will you" replied Foulds, as Sami and Jess both grudgingly fanned him.

scene 20, White Sun firing chamber, Eagle and Hawke stand alone, as Eagle struggles to get up from a blast of Black Wave

"It is useless to resist! Don't make me destroy you!" taunted Hawke.

Eagle rolled backwards to avoid another blow as Hawke continued,

"Eagle, you do now yet realise your importance. You could destroy Maelstrom; he has foreseen this. Sensei never told what happened to your father"

"He told me enough! He told me you killed him!"

"No Eagle, I am your father!"

"Look Foulds," shouted Eagle, "This is a load of rubbish"

"Fine" replied Foulds sulkily, "we'll use the original script"

scene 23, Green Earth, Hawke has just charged at the Black Hole lines, and Foulds has gone to get a drink

"You know what's odd?" he asked himself, "That Pepsi Max has no sugar in it. Presumably, Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Max have the same amount of sugar. It's just weird"

Foulds was distracted by a noise from behind one of the many caravans that scattered the landscapes. As he came closer, he heard voices,

"Oh Andy, you make me so happy. We truly are a perfect couple"

"My beloved Sonja, I can't imagine my life without you. Will you marry me?"

Foulds leapt out with more ferocity than Hawke and Maelstrom combined,

"Oh no you don't! Not in this fic! You're lucky I don't write you both out of the story this instant! For goodness sake, Sonja, you're ten years older than him!"

"I don't care!" screamed Sonja, tears in her eyes, "I love him!"

"No! No you don't! What's causing this disease in so many fics?"

Foulds suddenly noticed something on the ground… a scarf,

"So, this is the work of that evil and misguided Daniel!"

An evil laugh boomed out from nearby,

"We'll see about that Mr Foulds! With every passing day, more fics fall to my diabolical pairing!"

"Show yourself coward!"

There was no reply,

"Oh, he'll pay for this…" said Jon as Andy and Sonja set off to shop for a wedding dress, "He'll pay…"

* * *

And now, the deleted scenes! Did you know…

Eagle originally had superhuman powers himself. These were inherited from his father, just as Hawke got some cool powers from him. The original fight scene between them had less talking, but Eagle used white lightning that shot from his hands. This was why he wore gauntlets normally and his CO powers had 'lightning' in them. The scene was heavily influenced by the scene in Star Wars with Luke against the Emperor. Please note, I did not just give away what Eagle's father's powers will be. It won't be white lightning or Black Wave-esque.

Hawke was originally meant to die (for good!) in the White Sun. After I realised that I needed him for the end of the story and for the sequel, I decided to keep him alive. Unfortunately, I'd already written a death scene plan that I was really proud of, and I wanted Eagle to be the hero by killing Hawke, and thus the improbable revival of Hawke was born.

Adder was scheduled to die at three points. In Hawke's base, in the White Sun battle, and while facing Flak at the silos (killed by Lash in the latter). Fortunately, Jen forced me to keep him alive.

Jess was originally assumed to be dead and then brought out by Hawke in the final battle to dissuade Eagle from fighting. He was then supposed to try and rescue her, only to find out that she was already dead and then die himself. The fic became slightly more light hearted and this was dropped. The scene was inspired by Orpheus going to Hades…

… Nonetheless, that didn't stop the second draft of the middle part of the fic having Eagle kill Hawke and then kill himself. After I brought him back to save Sami in the battle against the Hydra, I decided to be nicer to the prince of the skies and give him back Drake, and, at length, Jess.

In the original, Drake really did die, but the outcry against this was so great that I let him return. Originally, the barrage that destroyed the Hydra was from Adder, who Eagle then mistook for Drake because of the speed of the ships. Changing it around allowed Adder to have a far cooler entrance in the airfield. I loved his scene with Kanbei.

Perhaps somebody noticed that Hawke was holding a little red book before Eagle arrived? Well, that was originally important, but got removed from the end version. It was in fact a copy of the Aeneid Book 2. I originally was going to quote from it and have Hawke translate for Eagle, focusing on how Troy's burning led to the emergence of Rome. I left it out as I thought maybe I was getting a little too heavily influenced by classics. The theme however showed up again in Soaring, chapter 4, Sturm's speech.

I was also going to delve into Sturm's full back story, but I decided against it in the end. Who says it won't show up elsewhere though…

* * *

Well, I guess that's it. I can't drag this out any longer. Good luck everyone, and do try to write whatever you want. Everyone has a story to tell. Oh, and go and read Soaring. Nobody has any excuse not to. If you liked this story, you'll love Soaring. See y'all later…

"The literary gift is a mere accident - it is as often bestowed on idiots who have nothing to say worth hearing as it is denied to strenuous sages"

Max Beerbohm, 1903

The End


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